Beauty and the Beastly
by BelleSkellington403
Summary: In honor of the Beauty and the Beast on DVD. Kyle and Lindy set the stage again for modern Beauty and the Beast, but in the plot of the 2017 movie. Watch as the two fall in love with this shift in plot.
1. Prologue

**HALLO! I love Beauty and the Beast, and therefore I am in love with Beastly. With the new release of Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_ on DVD, I decided to merge the two plot lines together. I hope you guys enjoy, because Beastly is not well recognized. (And my other fic _Never Can Say Goodbye_ was a bit short and choppy, I'll admit.) I will return with a second chapter soon. **

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

 _Once Upon a Time..._

Kyle Kingsbury scowled. He faced the door to his limousine. Beyond it were the sounds of music and laughter. The party, _his_ party, had already begun. Glass hit glass as high school students under the age of 21 were drinking their hearts out at the bar, on the dance floor, and sprawling over tables. Dim lights and the DJ made the party seem even more intense. But, the party paled in comparison to the actual guests of the party.

Kyle Kingsbury would not invite anyone to his parties. He only invited those he deemed beautiful enough to be near him. They came from all over, from NYC to LA to Miami, Florida, each one on display for him to choose.

Kyle snapped his fingers to the hairdresser that he ordered ride along with him in case of damaging his do. She ran another coat of gel through his blond locks, slicking them back from his face and smoothing any stray hairs. She finished by brushing any stray hairs from his coat and pinning on two white roses. She finally gave him a mirror. He gazed at himself for quite some time, then smirked in approval and dropped the mirror onto the limo seat. The hairdresser fainted back onto her seat.

Kyle took no notice to his temporarily hired servants. The limousine had already sped away. A red carpet had been rolled out in front of the building, leading to the guests. Dozens of women; some older, some younger. They turned their attention to him as he strutted into the room. He stood still for a moment before giving a wink to one cluster of them, making them all squeal and faint. He laughed and snapped his fingers loudly.

"DJ!" he called. "You know what to do."

The stereo master messed with the dashboard on the stage, music blasting from the speakers. The girls and their chaperones in tight clothing and stilettos danced and drank their night away, but they faded compared to Kyle. He was the master, the center of attention. The music had just hit its climax when the floor suddenly hushed. Kyle glanced around at his peers, confused, until he noticed the young, anciently dressed, overweight girl standing in the middle of the dance floor. She stared intensely at him.

Furious at this girl (what he thought was a girl) for ruining his party, Kyle pushed through the crowd. By the time he arrived to meet her, his face was red with rage. When he stepped closer, he saw that it was a girl. A disgustingly hideous girl in an old, filthy goth dress and greasy green hair.

"Who the hell are you?" Kyle demanded.

"I came for the party, Kyle," she said, handing out what seemed to be an invite. "I have your invitation."

"I think you have the wrong address, honey. The Strip Club is five blocks down." The crowd erupted in laughter. The girl held no embarrassment. She stared at him blankly.

"I assure you, I have one. See?"

Kyle snatched the invitation from her fat fingers and read it carefully. Yes, this was his invitation. How or why someone would give one to _her_ was something to deal with later. He needed this slutbag out of his party. He held the invite up to where she could see it and ripped it down the middle! He watched in delight as her face turned to utter shock and horror. He then proceeded to rip the little pieces until they were nothing but off-colored party confetti.

"What the hell was that for?!" she screamed.

He grabbed her firmly by her squishy shoulder. "Listen, bitch. This is my party. I get to say who comes in and who stays out. I get to say who is qualified to be around me and who isn't. And - to be perfectly honest, babycakes - why don't you go back to sleeping on a bench in Central Park?" He shoved her as far as he could away from her and turned to walk away.

"You know, Kyle, not everything in life revolves around you, and certainly not because you're beautiful!"

He turned back around. "You're _still_ here?!"

"One day, you're going to end up all alone. And there will be no one to blame but yourself."

"Get out! Before I call security" he snapped. He was done doing this passively. She was being persistently annoying.

"Your actions have consequences, Kyle. You're making my decision very easy right now."

He raised one eyebrow. "What decision?"

She stared at him intensely. No sadness, no embarrassment. Only blank and empty green eyes that pierced straight through him.

 _"You'll see."_

* * *

The party went on as if the ugly girl had never came. But Kyle felt something...off. He wasn't sick or tired, but he felt unnerved. She had stared at him so fiercely, so blankly it was almost ominous. He noticed his breath was uneven as he held one of his guests by her waist. She continuingly asked him what was wrong until he could bear the strain no longer and pushed her away, stumbling out of the building. The limousine was parked outside, letting him in. The driver asked if he was alright.

"Just drive!" Kyle demanded.

The limo sped up the street, the lights of the city blurring together like that painting he saw in a textbook once. They were almost on 5th avenue when his head suddenly exploded in pain, so much that he doubled over. The concerned driver asked again, but Kyle urged him to keep driving. The limo hadn't even stopped when he jumped out and sprinted for the elevator to his penthouse apartment. The numbers were moving. Two sets, three sets. The doors finally dinged and he thrust himself out and stumbled to his bedroom, where he let out a scream of terror.

The ugly girl from the party was sitting casually on his bed. He wanted to scream at her, ordered her to get out. But all he could let out was:

"W-Wha-What the fu-?"

She stood up, chanting. "Retribution. Poetic justice. Just deserts. Comeuppance."

As she chanted, her body morphed. Her heavy dress she wore seemed to engulf her in a sort of cocoon. Her eyes stared directly at him, glowing.

"C-Comeuppance?"

"Well-deserved punishment, Kyle. Look it up. After all these years, you've poisoned people's lives. People were ruined, hurt, and - I'm sure you never heard or cared - killed by your transgressions."

"W-What the hell?! What is going on here?!"

He was shaking, checking her for any weapon she might be concealing underneath that heavy cloak. Her face thinned, her hair shining black and green and violet. She finally shed her cloak, revealing her slender, hourglass figure against snug black robes.

"I told you, Kyle." She snapped her fingers, sparks erupting with the sound. "Comeuppance." She stepped closer to him. "You will know what it is like not to be beautiful, to be as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside. If you learn your lesson well, you may be able to undo my spell. If not, you will live with this punishment forever."

A sudden pain in Kyle's body sent him to the floor. His limbs were shaking, stretching. He tried to say something, but it came out with a painful cry. He finally looked up at the witch and mustered the strength to say:

"I'm sorry! This...this won't happen again - AAAH!" His head grew with a sharp pain as if two nails were being driven out of his skull. "What are you doing to me?!"

She stared at him with both blankness and intensity. "In some countries, when a man steals, they cut off his hand. If a man rapes, he is castrated. The tools of the crime are removed from those who commit them."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" He could barely keep his eyes open, his body burning with blistering pain. The clock struck midnight, and the pain stopped. Kyle didn't feel himself stand, but he was on his feet. The witch touched his shoulder and spun him around.

"Behold! What you really are!"

The sight that met his eyes was not him. It was a creature covering in brown hair - fur - claws and fangs. Long brown hair replaced his once luscious blond locks with cat-like ears and two small horns poking out. His face was a mix of bear and cat and wolf. Kyle touched his face, the creature doing the same. He frantically touched his face as the realization came that this creature was him.

He screamed, but his voice had changed and it came out with a roar.

" **WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!** "

As he was feeling around his body, the witch came closer, setting a hand on his shoulder with a creepy smile. "I told you. Comeuppance."

He turned, but she was gone. She was still in the mirror he stood in front of, fingering the rose corsage on his collar. Her voice echoed in his head.

 _"You have two years to find someone to love you as you are, and for you to love them back."_

The now-broken roses curled back up into bloom on his chest.

 _"If you succeed this act before the second rose's last petal falls, the curse will be lifted."_

The roses ripped from his shirt and sat on his dresser in a cross pattern, upright and almost floating.

 _"If you cannot, then you shall remain in this form forever."_


	2. Chapter 1: A Funny Girl

Lindy opened the front door to her apartment, making sure to lock the door and deadbolt and that her dad got breakfast. The day started as every other day started. A step out the front door, and the street wakes up as if it were rising from the grave. A guy in a hood spray-painting the already graffitied wall, broken bottles flying out of broken windows, a dog or two barking in the distance.

Lindy rushed to the subway and hopped on.

She stepped off at the sixth exit. The busy city streets contrasted with the broken down Brownsville neighborhood. Cars were rushing by or jammed in traffic. Lindy walked up to a crowd of pedestrians at the crosswalk. The light turned green, and she hurried to the Starbucks straight across. After grabbing an espresso and a bagel, she ran out the door to the four blocks to Tuttle Prep School.

Lindy sighed at another day of entering the same old building with the same old people with the same old attitude. After a few sips of bitter coffee, she twisted the combination on her locker, finding the appropriate supplies for the day. After shutting her locker, a familiar voice called out for her.

" _Buenos Dias_ , Linda!"

Lindy turned to see an old acquaintance of hers.

"Morning, Elias," she greeted her fellow scholarship student. She had known him as one of the other outcasts of the school, being an orphan from the Dominican Republic and gaining an opportunity in an exchange program. He always had that clouded look as if he were missing something.

"Did you lose something again?" she asked.

"I guess. Problem is, can not remember what I lose. Oh, well." Lindy chuckled, stashing her textbooks in her bag and starting down the opposite hall. "Where you going?"

"I'm going to return my library book to Mrs. Halle. It's about a governess in 19th century England finding her way in life."

Elias rolled his eyes. " _Si_ , Linda. _Muy bien_."

Lindy wasn't surprised by Elias's reaction. Nobody in this school would react in a pleasant way about _Jane Eyre._ Or art. Or travel. Or anything that didn't come before 2005. Everything was all "LOL" and "OMG" in a world of computer phones. Lindy didn't have anything against that. She just wished people would stop staring at her. People whisper. "Weird girl" they'd say. "Doesn't fit right" was another favorite. This was especially true with the girls of the school. They took it as offense that she would chose education over a hot guy. But it never occurred to them the Lindy _chose_ not to be part of that crowd.

She pushed open the doors to the library, revealing the dusty and cluttered shelf of books. Budget cuts had reduced the once grand library to a supply closet of only 10 books. But Lindy was always greeted by Mrs. Halle, the supply manager.

"Lindy!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Halle."

Lindy replaced her book on the shelf.

"Where did you run off to this time?" asked Mrs. Halle.

"A city in 19th century England. Do you have anything new?" Lindy asked, though she knew the answer.

"I'm afraid not, sweetie. But you're welcome to go back to some of the other places." Lindy smiled politely and scanned over the shelf, finally selecting _Phantom of the Opera._ Paris, a place she would love to visit someday. "Good choice. I'll see you tomorrow, I hope."

Lindy turned at the door. "Mrs. Halle, your little library makes this tiny supply closet of a life seem so much bigger." And she exited the closet as the first bell rang. She strolled upstream towards her first period geometry, her book in hand. She felt the crowd part for her to move. She supposed because she was the weird kid, but whatever. She marched up the stairs, passing the kids late to their classes across the school. Lindy glanced around and spotted her across the hall.

"Hey, Kendra!"

The goth girl turned around, her green hair bobbing at her ears. Lindy walked up to her.

"I got you a bagel." Kendra took the bagel graciously until she looked back up at Lindy.

"What? No coffee?"

Lindy rolled her eyes and handed Kendra her cup of slightly drunken coffee. She waved a goodbye to Kendra and hurried off to her first class.

* * *

The dismissal bell rang, the halls flooding with students to return to luxury penthouses and upstate mansions. Lindy was on the subway, her round trip ticket to her Brownsville borrow. The subway jerked to a halt, letting Lindy make her way up to her disheveled street. She couldn't wait to get her homework out of the way and read her book again. She just hoped her father wasn't in a bitchy mood today. She entered her complex, marched up the six flights, and unlocked the door and deadbolt.

Shutting the door quietly, Lindy glanced around her apartment. Her father, old and tired-looking, laid on the couch with a blanket. She sighed silently. Her father had been her hero at one point. But the once hardworking teacher and devoted father had degenerated into the poor, sickly addict he'd led himself to be. In a way, she was proud of him. He'd been clean for 2 weeks now, and maybe...maybe he would finally take a turn at life for a change.

She set her bag on the counter, the old man jerked awake. Lindy started, not sure how her father would react. She was surprised and relieved to see that he waved her over to him. She obliged, kneeling down beside him.

"Hey, Dad. How was your day?"

"Same as... the last day I...woke up. Saw you." His voice was still groggy with sleep, or perhaps he was drunk. Lindy only smiled.

"I'm proud of you. You've been clean for 2 weeks now. The clinic said that if you can go that long you can get back on your feet."

He smoothed her hair. Lindy wasn't sure if he was fully conscious of his actions, but tried to play along. Lindy reached for the book on the coffee table.

"You want me to read to you?" Lindy asked.

"Shuh..." was more or less of an answer. Lindy knitted her eyebrows. This wasn't like him on his clean days. He was more aware, and centered. Something wasn't right. She opened to a random page in her Shakespeare works and began reading a sonnet. Her father still ran his fingers through her hair. His combing soon became rough and harsh.

"Dad, that's too tight. Let go." His grip became tighter. "Ow! Dad! AH!" His grip finally came loose, and Lindy fell to the floor. "Dad, what's wrong with you?!"

"Don't be like that, Laura. Be a good girl..."

Lindy stood, shaking with rage and disappointment. Her father never spoke her mother's name, unless he was out of it. She couldn't believe it, but was expecting it at the same time. Her father going back to his old ways.

"Dad, you said you would - "

She was interrupted by a buzz at the speaker. She held the button and yelled a "yes?!" before someone answered.

"Hey Linds. It's Victor."

She sighed. "Not in the mood."

"No, no, no! Hear me out. Is your dad in?"

"Go away."

"C'mon! I got money, or food, or we could go out sometime?"

"No!" Lindy hit the silent button before he could answer. The buzzer rang a few times before it finally stopped. Mysterious men were always buzzing at her door, but Victor and his brother Juan Paulo were persistent. She knew what they were: drug dealers. Her father had let his temptation get the best of him. And now he owed them. Someway, somehow; those guys would get their way. It always happened.

She stormed back over to her father, anger pulsing through her but eager to get her father back to rehab.

"Okay, Dad. Let's go. We're going back!"

She yanked the blanket from him, his demeanor abruptly changing.

"What the hell?!"

Lindy grabbed the phone receiver, dialing the number for the rehab center. She yelped as someone grabbed her by the hair and her face hit the kitchen countertop. She struggled against the grip, yelling at him hysterically.

"You called the COPS on me, bitch! You called them on your own father?!"

"No!" Lindy squealed. "It was the rehab clinic!"

"LIAR!" He pulled her head back until she was bending over backwards into his chest. His eyes were clouded, out of whack. She knew this wasn't him, it was the drugs. She flashed a begging look, trying to reach the father she loved. She thought she saw something, because he released her hair and shoved her to the floor. He huffed loudly.

"You better not call the cops. You better not if you know what's good for you."

He turned and hobbled out of the living room. As soon as she thought he was out of earshot, Lindy pulled herself up with the receiver in hand. The impatient clerk on the other end had just said her tenth "hello" when Lindy finally answered and explained the situation.

"What do you mean you won't readmit him?!" Lindy whispered frantically.

"I'm sorry, but any patient who's been discharged within one month will have to visit our outpatient center."

Lindy groaned and asked for the address.

* * *

The taxi that held her father sped away, leaving Lindy with a moment of peace. Only a moment. She shouldn't be surprised. If anything, she should be numbed by now. She marched back into her apartment, the stale smell of chemicals and alcohol still hanging in the air. She folded the blanket on the couch and set it in the linen closet. That reminded her...

 _The laundry!_

She grabbed the wicker basket by the table and sped down the stairs to the laundry room just as the washer dinged. She tossed the soapy clothes into the basket and turned to the dryer. She groaned. "Again?!"

The steaming dryer with the knob unscrewed sat with a sticky note reading "OUT OF ORDER" in big letters. She ripped off the sticky note to reveal another sticky note reading "AGAIN". She heaved the wicker basket up the stairs, knowing she'd have to use the laundry wire outside. After slamming the door in frustration, she forced the window open. The sun was still up in the sky, but the slightest of breezes met her face. The alley that the wire suspended over was completely shaded. She turned on the oscillating fan by the kitchen table as she began pinning each piece of laundry on the wire. As the fan blew her hair out of her face, a lightbulb flickered on.

* * *

Lindy flipped another page before glancing back at her laundry. She had made sure to thank Ms. Lester for that old toy car. The motor had been quite useful. She grinned proudly as another shirt slid through the window, happily waving in the fan's perfectly stationed breeze, and skidded back out. Albeit the honking of cars and the yelling of people in the other apartments, Lindy was finally at peace for once. Her homework was now finished and her seventh trip to Paris was nearly complete.

"Hey!"

Lindy looked up from her journey, searching for whoever had called out. She looked up to find a little girl, no older than eight, staring down at her from the fire escape above her. She had frizzy black hair and a pink floral dress a size and a half too small. She stared at Lindy with a befuddled look.

"What are you doing?"

"Laundry," Lindy answered simply. "It's pretty exciting if you know how to make it."

"It looks more like a book, ma'am."

Lindy giggled. "Well, yeah. I was just in Paris."

"No, you not. You reading from one of those book-a-ma-jigs."

Lindy laughed again. "Well, sometimes it feels like I'm really there. You wanna come?" She waved for her to come down. "C'mon."

The little girl looked back at her window cautiously, then at Lindy before stepping down the metal stairs and sitting down on the second step. Lindy moved to the bottom step with her bag, pulling out her homework. "These are just a few simple sentences. I want you to look at the word I point to and read it for me. Okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Lindy pointed to one word in the middle of the article. The girl squinted. "A-Apple." Lindy nodded and pointed to the next word. "That. Falls. Far. From the tree."

Lindy beamed at the little girl. "That's really good. Good job!" Lindy felt her heart swell with pride until a sharp yell interrupted to the two from the next floor up.

"NEVAEH!"

The two girls snapped their heads up at the obese woman standing on the fire escape above. The little girl, Nevaeh, took on a look of terror as the woman stomped down the stairs and grabbed her by the arm.

"What the hell you thinkin' going out on this damn escape. I told you to stay in the damn house!"

Nevaeh was sobbing now, babbling. "I'm sorry, Mama! I'm sorry! I sorry!" She screamed as her mother pushed her up the stairs and locked eyes with Lindy.

"And you! Bitch, you stay away from my daughter!"

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am. I was just teaching your daughter how to re - ."

"Readin' don't get you nowhere out here! You shut the hell up in your piece of shit house and stay out of my way!"

Lindy shrank inside, the woman stomping back up the steps. A sudden snap made Lindy gasp, and the laundry wire fluttered to the wall. She rushed to pull her laundry back up, ignoring the laughing from the building from the other side of the alleyway. She yanked the laundry onto the windowsill next to her and crawled inside, pulling her still slightly-damp laundry inside.

 _Why do they have to do this to me?_ she asked. She cringed as she could hear the screaming of Nevaeh from upstairs, followed by rhythmic smacking. She grimaced, throwing herself out of her apartment door and outside, trying to take her mind off of everything. Was it that much of a deal to teach a little girl how to read? Or give a goth girl some breakfast? Or to read in general?

"Lindy!"

She turned the opposite direction as Victor came bounding across the street.

"No, wait! Linds. Lindsay! Lindy Lohan!"

"Stop calling me weird names!"

"Oh come on. I mean it out of love!" Victor said. Lindy quickened her pace, but Victor stepped in front of her. "Heard you got into trouble with old lady Fratalli. Teaching her youngest how to read."

"I don't see a problem in trying to teach another child how to read."

"Lindy, the only kids you should be worried about are your own." His hands were on her waist, coming uncomfortably close to her chest. She pushed his hands away and pressed closer to her apartment complex.

"I'm too young to have kids!"

He grabbed her arm. "Maybe you haven't met the right guy?"

"It's a small building and a limited school. I've met all the men I need to."

"Maybe you should look again!"

"I _have_!"

"Okay, Miss I-Go-To-Private-Manhattan-School. I have enough money to provide. I have a steady job, a decent home, a car. People can change."

She backed up into the doorway, his fingers closing around her neckline. She searched for the doorknob while still trying to distract him. "No, I-I'm sorry. I just can't."

She discovered the knob and forced her way in, marching up the stairs. She could hear his footsteps following her own.

"Lindy, you know how it is here! It's survival of the fittest. After your dad kicks his own bucket, you'll end up in foster care."

"At least foster care would be better than this."

"Exactly!" She ran up to her door, fiddling with her keychain. He firmly grabbed her shoulder. "Lin, you keep living like this and you won't get nothing! This is the thug life, baby. For people like us, it won't get any better."

She unlocked the door, shooting him a death stare. "I may be the daughter of an addict, but I'm not part of a thug life. I am sorry, but whatever you think we have, we don't. Your big boss brother selling his crap to my dad is part of why I am here in the first place. Stay away from me! Goodbye!"

She yanked the door closed, locking the door, deadbolt, and latching the chain for good measure. Finally relieved, she dropped her head into the doorframe. She waited a few minutes, not making a sound. She peered through the peephole just to be sure he was gone, then out the window. She climbed onto the fire escape, the pigeons perching on the rails.

"Did that really just happen?! Did he really think that - UGH! Never! It'll be a cold day in Hell when I relent to him; I can guarantee that. There's got to be more than this!" She hustled up the fire escape steps, not caring how much noise she made. She finally climbed the ladder to the roof and gazed out onto the horizon. It wasn't much to look at, but the skyline of New York was a breathtaking enough view for her. She wanted more views, more cities, more adventure! She wanted to be free from this life! Free from her life.

She sat down beside the edge of the roof, gazing out onto the streets. Pigeons flew to perch next to her.

"You know, it'd be nice for someone to...understand. For once. Or, at least, try to. I want so much more than what this little city has in store for me."


	3. Chapter 2: Intruder in the Garden

The taxi sped along the busy intersection. Daniel Owens was now sobering up from his night, the driver turning off onto the next exit.

"Phil?"

The driver glanced at him in the mirror. "Finally back in, Danny? This is your fifth trip to the rehab center."

Daniel looked around at the dirty cab. The sky was turning black from incoming storm clouds, the lights of the city growing dimmer as they entered more compressed building arrangements.

"Where're we goin', Phil?"

"Outpatient center," Phil replied. "Your daughter was really out of it this time."

Daniel scoffed. "That bitch can kiss my ass. I can take care of myself, and she should stop finding excuses to get rid of me."

"Maybe she's just worried about you," Phil suggested. "She _is_ your daughter."

"Linda is my daughter, but her sisters were also my daughters. They left for their piece-of-shit boyfriends."

The two were interrupted by a clap of thunder overhead. The street was empty, even of passing cars. Rain was pouring down, blinding the streets. Phil stopped at a red light. Another car, a 2008 Chevrolet SUV, could be seen across the street, its headlights off, but the SUV on. Phil flashed his lights at the driver to warn them as the light turned green. Their headlights flicked on as Phil passed, and the SUV U-turned. Daniel stared out the back window, the SUV hot on their trail. Before Daniel could say anything, a pop rang out and the cab jerked.

"They're shooting at us! Why are they shooting?!"

Phil swerved down a corner, the roads slick with rain. Phil had the accelerator to the floor, running red lights and ignoring stop signs. He usually wasn't keen about breaking the law, but he didn't want to die that night. More shots rang out over the thunder, the back window taking a bullet. Broken glass littered the backseat, Daniel taking a few cuts to his face. Phil turned the taxi into a wealthier-looking Brooklyn neighborhood and began to slow down after a few hundred feet.

"Are they gone, man?"

Daniel got out of his fetal position to glance out the broken back window. He nodded, looking just as confused as Phil. Phil turned the car off, exiting the car to look at the damage. The bumper was dented badly and the two back tires were blown beyond recognition. He heard the back door open, Daniel stepping out into the rain.

"Ah, the back tires are smoke. I'll have to replace them."

"How long is that going to take?!" Daniel groaned impatiently.

"If it were a sunny day in Central Park, I'd say about fifteen minutes. In this rain, it could take me well over an hour." Phil popped the trunk and pulled out the spare tires. "This is gonna take a while. Maybe you can get someone to let you get a phone call."

Daniel huffed, now soaking wet and stuck in Brooklyn. Now he had to knock on the door just for a lousy phone call. He glanced around in the rain. The beautiful Brooklyn brownstones were almost a slap in the face. How could these people go about their day when people like him were evading eviction? He hurried under the stoop, just to get out of the rain. After a few minutes of standing there in his wet socks, he glanced up at the door and rang the bell. He waited, and no one answered. He knocked on the door, and still no answer.

He heard a click and turned to the doorknob. He tested it for a lock and it had one. He turned it slowly, but the lock did not stop his hand. The door opened easily and he peeked inside. The lights were all off and the house was quiet. This seemed like either a setup or poor planning for the owner. Either way, Daniel stepped inside. The house was warm, giving him some relief from the late September rains. He took a few steps forward, the rain from his coat dripping onto the floor. The floorboards creaked under him, sounding painfully loud in the silent halls.

Another clap of thunder shattered his thoughts. If Phil was going to take an hour to fix the cab, he might as well get something to eat. He groped around the dark hallway until his stumbled through a doorway. He felt along the wall for a light switch until he finally flicked one on. A single lamp on the chandelier above the counter gave off just enough light to see cabinets and a fridge. He crept to the sink and filled a nearby glass with water before rummaging through some drawers for bread. He opened the fridge and found meat and condiments. He finished his sandwich and quietly closed the fridge to shovel his food down.

A sudden shuffle from the floor above startled Daniel into dropping the sandwich. He hurriedly switched off the light and bolted for the hallway. Instead of making a run for the door, he dove for a room across the hall. Footsteps traveled to the staircase. Daniel frantically searched for a closet or a curtain to hide behind. He chose the door behind the couch, crawling on the floor and turning the doorknob slowly. The door opened silently, giving Daniel a chance to sneak inside. He didn't realize that the door led to another staircase. He tumbled down the first few before sliding down the rest, stopping onto a carpeted floor.

"That hurt..." he moaned. He glanced up at his surroundings. It looked almost exactly like the floor above, only with dark green walls. He stood absolutely still for a moment. He heard no more footsteps which was good. But now he was trapped in the basement. He decided to search for an exit, knowing there would be a backyard that he could escape to. He groped around down the hall once again, trying to find any door that would lead him somewhere else. A flash of lightning made his heart skip a beat, and a door to his right light up. He rushed to the glass, intricately designed door that led to the backyard. He tried the handle, and the door swung open. The sight that met him was not what he expected.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of roses of different sizes and colors were perfectly planted in pots, hanging gardens, and climbing up the walls. A greenhouse. Now he was really trapped.

 _Roses,_ he remembered. _Lindy said something about roses once._ He scavenged the walls for any opening or missing panel he could crawl out of. He got down on his hands and knees, trying to see something behind the various pots. He tried shoving the pots aside, but it made a hideous scraping sound on the concrete floor. He resorted to picking the pots up himself and moving them. Those made less noise, the rain pounding on the roof drowning out the sound. There was one patch from the wall that was broken, so well-hidden by the pots that no one had bothered to fix it. A few more pots were still in the way. He tried standing a bit to move them out of the way. His foot hit a wet patch on the floor and a pot shattered behind him.

A slam to a door inside was Daniel's cue to hide. He dove behind a large box of white roses, his heart pounding. The greenhouse door burst open. Someone was awake, and they were mad.

"Who's in here?!" It was male, probably late teens or early 20s. "I know you're still in here, douche! Show yourself!"

Daniel sat still as a statue as their footsteps clicked on the concrete. Clicked? What kinds of shoes was this guy wearing? His footsteps were in front of him, slowly passing every box and pot and container of roses. He paused in front of Daniel. Daniel's heart was in his throat. He covered his mouth with his hand to muffle his breathing. After what felt like an eternity, the owner of the house continued past Daniel and was marching over to the far end of the greenhouse. The door was wide open, and Daniel was so close. Now was the time to make a break for it.

He jumped from his hiding spot, not caring how much noise he made and not looking back. He dashed up the stairs, back through the living room, and out the front door. Phil's car was just up ahead, and it looked fixed to him. He reached for the car door before the click of a gun startled the two men to look up. A tall, Hispanic man in his late 20s stood in the rain, holding a PJK-9HP pistol in his hand.

"I thought I'd never catch up with you," he growled. "Hand over the money, Dan."

Daniel had never been so shaken up in his life. He'd just had the run-in of his life and now he was face-to-face with the dealer he was in debt with, Juan Paulo. Daniel tried to say something, but his breath was long gone. Juan Paulo's hand was on the trigger, the door to the cab was in his reach. If he made any sudden moves, he'd be shot. If he didn't move, he'd be shot. He held his eyes shut, waiting for the bullet to pierce his skin, but the clank of a wrench sent Juan Paulo to the ground, moaning.

Phil tossed the wrench inside the cab and climbed in. "Move it!"

Daniel opened the car door, but movement caught his eye. Juan Paulo was on his hands and knees, dazed but furious. In his most desperate moment, Daniel flew for the gun. It went down so fast. The struggle, the grip on the gun, the shot fired. Juan wasn't moving. He laid on the ground, the rainwater now turning red. The cab was gone. And Daniel was alone.

He dropped the pistol, horrified at the sight before him. He was hyperventilating, babbling in panic. He'd killed a man, was miles from his house, and was without the proper drugs to keep him satisfied. How would he get home? Where would he go now? What would happen when - ?

Loud, splashing footsteps launched him from his panicking. There was someone behind him, close, breathing down his neck. He froze with fear and confusion when he was met with a growl. He dared to turn around and nearly let out a scream.

" _Did you do this?"_

Daniel couldn't speak. Fear had taken control of his body.

 _"You broke into my house, destroyed my property, and murdered someone. What kind of scum are you?"_

"P-Please..." Daniel found his voice. "Don't call th-the cops."

 _"Oh, I won't call the cops."_

Daniel heaved a sigh of relief, until he was grabbed by the back of his coat.

 _"I wouldn't want you getting off easy, because I'm about to do something worse!"_

* * *

Lindy sipped at her tea, trying to feel a sense of satisfaction. Her father was back in rehab, she had everything done for the week school-wise, and she'd made a few extra bucks working at the grocery store. Something still nagged at her. Would her father really commit this time? She shook her head. She'd been disappointed by him so many times. He kept saying that he'd stay clean, get a job, be the father he used to be. The father he used to be was dead. She knew that. He died with her mother.

The buzzer rang at the door, making Lindy jump. She set the mug on the coffee table and walked to the rapidly beeping buzzer. She held down the button.

"What?!"

No answer came. Lindy yelled another "hello" into the speaker before giving up. She turned around to go back to the couch but was stopped by frantic banging at the door. She ran to the door and opened it slightly, the chain still stopping the door. From the crack, she could make out Phil's scared and worried face.

"Phil? What's the matter?"

Lindy closed the door and unlatched the chain, giving Phil a chance to step inside. She led him to the couch, letting him sit down.

"Thanks, Lindy." He took her mug and took a sip of her tea. She opened her mouth to say something, but sighed and sat down on the coffee table.

"What the hell happened?! You look like you've seen a ghost."

He stared at he with intensity that scared her. "We...we never saw it coming."

"Never saw what coming?"

"I was almost there. I just flashed my lights, just to warn him. But they started shooting, tires blew out, rain pouring down!"

Lindy put her hand on his shoulder. "Phil, slow down. What happened? You flashed your lights at another car and they started shooting. What happened after?"

Phil took a breath and another sip of tea before finally focusing on Lindy. "I just got out to change the tires. Your dad went up to a house to call a tow truck. Next thing I know, he runs out screaming. Some guy comes out with a gun. I tried to knock him out but it all happened so fast. I just remember getting in the car, a shot being fired, and driving until I looked back and realized your father wasn't in the car."

Now it was Lindy's turn to panic. "WHAT?! Where is he?! Do you know where he is?!"

"Yes, I remember the address."

Lindy stood up, pulling Phil with her. "Take me to him! Take me to my father!"


	4. Chapter 3: Take Me Instead

Lindy could only urge Phil to go faster as they crossed the Brooklyn Bridge. She fumed. What could have driven her father this far? Where was he now? How much money did he want to mooch off of her? This was worse than the day they found out her mother had died. She slapped herself in the face lightly, reminding herself never to think of her mother again.

"Are we getting close?" Lindy demanded.

"Once we get to the residential area, I'll tell you. But please," Phil begged. "start asking once we get off the bridge!" Lindy sighed, slumping back on the sticky leather seat with her face in her hands. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry, it's just..."

"I know, kid. I know."

The rest of the drive was silent and tense, Lindy never taking her eyes off the window. The industrial city skyscrapers turned to residential homes, most of them private brownstone mansions. Tree-lined sidewalks blocked a lot of the windows on the buildings. Her eyes darted from the window to Phil and back again, looking for any sign that they were getting close. They turned onto 4th street in Park Slope, the fancier houses coming into view. The cab suddenly jerked to a stop. Phil looked to his left, pointing.

"That's the house."

Lindy climbed out of the cab, staring up at the white painted mansion-like apartment. With autumn leaves falling to the streets and nearly no people to be seen, the house gave off an eerie presence. She stepped towards it, determined for answers. The window to the cab squeaked as it rolled down.

"You're actually going in there?"

"What other choice do I have?" Lindy asked.

"I could call the cops for you," Phil offered.

She shook her head. "My dad would freak. He said the next time he thought I was calling the cops on him, he'd bash my head in with a brick. Sure, he was high. But I can't take my chances."

Phil rolled his eyes in a way that said: "You're gonna get your ass kicked." She didn't particularly care. She wanted her dad to live, no matter how much he disappointed her.

"Fine, just take a weapon." A wrench clattered onto the pavement. Lindy raised an eyebrow. Phil shrugged. "Sorry, it's all I got."

Lindy scooped up the wrench and marched up the front steps to the brownstone and knocked firmly on the door. No answer came. She held down on the doorbell for a few seconds and still nothing happened. She pounded on the door, yelling at someone to open up. She groaned, frustrated. In a desperate act, she closed her eyes, grabbed the doorknob, and twisted it. The door opened.

She turned back to Phil, signaled him not to say a word, and stepped inside. It was a classy place, but dark and empty-looking. Wrench in hand, she pressed forward and kept her eyes and ears open. The house was so quiet, but that meant any sound was amplified to sound louder.

" _Will, look! A young girl!"_

 _"Be quiet!"_

Lindy turned quickly, swearing she heard whispers coming from the other rooms. She peeked in.

"Who said that? Who's there?" There was no answer. "Hello?!"

Using the light from her phone, she shined the light into the room. It was, or she assumed it was, empty. Odd. She was sure there was someone. She turned back too the hallway as sounds from upstairs started ringing through the vents. Music? She flew to the stairs, calling out for anyone. But as she reached the top step, the music stopped.

"Creepy..." she breathed. She trekked up the next flight of stairs and, again, found nothing. She knocked on doors, travelled up and down hallways, and yelled for anyone to come out. She then assumed it was pointless, since no one in their right mind would run out and show themselves to someone who just broke in. But, her father would. He was here, but he wasn't coming to her. She turned to the last flight of stairs, these being older and worn than the others. They creaked and moaned under her feet, leading her to a clustered, attic-like space. It was dusty beyond belief and very dark, but Lindy didn't have much of a problem. She turned her phone on again and knocked on each door, searching for anything that sounded like her father. She was at her 4th door when she heard coughing. She knocked.

"Get away from me! I'm done! I'm done!" was her answer.

"Daniel Owens? Is that you?"

"No, it's Frank Sinatra. Get the hell away from me!"

Lindy tried the doorknob, but it was locked. Out of any other options, she stepped back and rammed her shoulder into the door. She pounded herself in until the door burst open. The room was pitch black, but the phone light was enough for Lindy to make out a hunched figure in the corner.

"Dad!"

"Lindy?"

She ran to her father, noticing his bound wrists and ankles. She dug her nails into the thin rope. "These knots! Was this guy in the navy?!"

"Lindy, get out of here!"

She snapped her head up in surprise. "What?"

"Leave! Get out! Now!"

Was her dad...thinking of her wellbeing? It was probably shock. She went back to the ropes, but he jerked away from her.

"I'm serious! Leave while you can, before they hear you!"

"Who's they? Who did this to you? How much do you owe them?"

He kept shaking his head. "I don't owe him anything! No money, no drugs. I swear! I've seen things you should never see, so get out!"

"Do you really expect me to believe you?!" she snapped. Three things happened simultaneously. The door slammed shut, the ropes untied, and the phone light went out. Lindy glanced around the room in fear, feeling her father's violently shaking body behind her. She stood up, the wrench tight in her grip, and glanced around the pitch dark room.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

A voice came from the darkness, an angry, growling voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm Linda Owens. Who the hell are you?!" she shouted, trying to sound braver than she felt. He didn't answer, so she continued. "He's my dad! Let him go!"

"Your father is a thief!"

Lindy clenched her free hand, anger pulsing through her. "I knew it! What did you steal?!"

"I didn't steal anything!" Daniel claimed.

"He broke into my home, ate my food, and destroyed my rose garden."

"I broke one pot by accident!" Daniel argued. Lindy quickly shushed him.

"A life sentence based off a couple roses? What's wrong with you?!"

A sudden force flew past her, her hair flying over her shoulder. " _I_ was given the same punishment once. Why shouldn't he deserve the same? You already admitted he was a thief."

"But he's my dad. And he's sick. He was told to come to this house for a phone call."

"He broke into my home! Don't defend him!"

Trying not to make too much noise, she stooped down to pick up her phone. After gripping it tightly, she could make out a figure as her eyes accommodated to the dark. He was tall and slender with shaggy hair, but that's all she could see. This guy was strong if he could drag and tie up an old man on an attic. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't lose someone again.

" _I_ asked for a rose!"

"What?"

"Lindy, no!"

She'd already said it, she couldn't go back. "I wanted a rose. I asked for one when he would come back home from rehab. It's my fault my father went into your garden. If you're going to punish anyone, then punish me."

"Lindy, no! You have no idea what you're getting yourself into!" Daniel pled. If she wasn't so selfless, or maybe selfish, then maybe she would listen to him. But, no. He'd gotten her into this, and now she had to get them out.

"You'd...do that for him?" the figure asked. "You do realize that I don't intend on releasing anyone I take with me. You still want to take his place?"

She was done talking to a shadow. If she were to make this deal, she'd make it properly; face-to-face. She turned on her phone, casting it up to her face so he could see her.

"Come into the light!" she ordered. No movement was made for a few agonizing seconds. She finally lifted her phone to him and gasped. She had expected something like a guy in their 20s, or maybe even something like Jigsaw from the horror movie. But no. This was something out of a fairytale novel. Every inch of his body was covered in blond fur, save for some ripped jeans he was wearing. His hands were clawed like a bear. His nose was long and wolf-like, sloping down to a mouth that twisted over snarling white fangs. Fur of a much darker shade covered his head and much of his face, two small horns poking out like two small trees. The most odd feature about him were his eyes. From a standpoint, some would think yellow or even red. But they were big, wide, and vibrantly blue.

"Choose, Linda Owens," he snarled.

Her eyes darted from the beast (she couldn't think of any other word) to her father.

"No! Lindy, don't! Trust me! I lost your mother, and I lost Sara and Angela. I can't lose you too!"

Lindy's mind and heart raced, trying to find a solution. She had to do this, there was no going back. She turned to her father and said. "Okay, Dad. I'll go. Give me a minute with him." The beast glared at her. "What's one minute in a lifetime going to hurt?"

He growled and stomped out of the room, leaving the door open. "Once this door closes, it won't open again!"

Lindy knelt down to her father's position, cutting the ropes around his ankles, as the beast paced outside the door.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I have to do this."

"No, you don't. I'm the one who should be sorry. For everything that I've ever done to hurt you. Every stupid mistake I've ever made that ended with us in the gutters. I may not be able to crawl out of there, but I know you can. You have a bright future ahead of you and that isn't something you should throw away. Live your life, and forget about me."

"Forget about you?!" Lindy sobbed.

"That's enough! She has to go!" the beast said.

Lindy threw herself into her father's arms, trying to let herself love him. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you, Lindy. Don't be afraid."

"I'm not." She held to him tightly, whispering into his ear. "And I'll escape, I promise."

"What?"

Without another word, she pulled him up, ran for the door, and threw him into the hallway. She pushed the door closed, locking herself in with the doorknob jacked. The beast's voice came from the door.

"You actually took his place? _Why?!"_

"He's my dad," Lindy answered simply.

"He's a scum-sucking crackhead. And so are you!"

He banged on the door once before he took a few steps toward the stairs. The sound of dragging and her father's cries finally pushed her and tears fell down her face. She fell to her knees, her hand still on the door, and silently began to cry. Her father was gone, her freedom was gone, her life was gone. All she could do know was sit on the dusty floor and sob, wondering what would happen to her.


	5. Chapter 4: Join Me for Dinner

The front door slammed shut, the house falling silent. As soon as the sound stopped, humming and buzzing of people bounced off the walls. Maurizio was the first to jump from his post, rushing over to his master in the foyer. Will, being the more sensible one, tried stopping him. But it wasn't any good when going blind. They nearly collided with each other when the beast, Adrian, turned around.

"Master Adrian."

"What?!" Adrian snapped.

"Um, since the girl is going to be with us for quite some time..." Maurizio probed, scratching the stump of his elbow. "Will and I were thinking - !"

" _He_ was thinking," Will corrected.

"That you might want to provide her with more comfortable living quarters," Maurizio finished.

Adrian stared at the two with a flat expression. The room was heavily tense with the silence until Adrian finally answered.

"Oh, sure! Let's give her the suite. In fact, why don't we all come down to the kitchen for tea and cupcakes!"

"Really?" Maurizio asked.

"NO!" Adrian snapped, storming down the stairs to the first floor. "This place is a prison on its own. A bed and toilet won't make any difference!"

After hearing the door from downstairs slam shut, Will muttered under his breath. "A prison, yes. I sure do love being blind."

Maurizio slapped the back of Will's head with his one hand. "Don't be like that, Will! Just think of how frightened this young girl must be, all alone in the attic."

"I know, but even if she is _the one_ you keep talking about who'd break his silly curse, he never said we could give her a room."

Maurizio nodded, but then slyly smirked. " _Si,_ but he never said that we _couldn't._ "

"Oh no." Will moaned, Maurizio rushing up the stairs.

* * *

Lindy curled up in the corner, trying to keep her phone alive. Should she call the police? No. They wouldn't believe her. What else could she do in an attic room with a broken door and no windows?

She gasped as the door flew open. Thinking it was the beast, she jumped to her feet and quickly grabbed a nearby chair. But the voice she heard was not of the beast's, but of another man.

"Forgive my intrusion, _cara mia._ But I have come to escort you to your rooms."

She knitted her eyebrows. "My rooms? But I thought - "

"What? _Once this door closes, it won't open again?_ RAWR! I know, he's so melodramatic."

She poked her head out from the room, catching sight of a young Italian man with one arm and two makeshift prosthetic legs. It caught her off guard, causing her to smash the chair onto his head. He was fortunately unharmed, his feet coming loose.

"You are very, very strong. This is an excellent quality."

"Who are you?!"

"I am Maurizio!"

"And...you live here too?" Lindy asked slowly.

"Well, of course he does!" A voice came from the stairs. A man in his late 20s with sunglasses and a pole in his hand, came storming over. "He waltzes around like he owns the place. Maurizio, if you know what's good for you, I suggest you lock that door."

At that statement, Lindy rushed back into the room to grab something else, settling with an old coatrack. The two men were whispering something she couldn't hear, but she didn't particularly care. If she was going to fight, she would fight. Fortunately the two stopped bickering once she entered the hallway, Maurizio back on his plastic feet.

"Right this way, _cara mia._ "

Lindy glanced back into the room nervously, the blind man slightly looking after Maurizio. After some difficult thinking, she put the coatrack down and followed after Maurizio, the blind man following. The rickety stairs creaked under the weight of three people, so much so that Lindy feared they would fall right through, even if some feet were artificial. She was getting over the shock of seeing them for the first time, trying not to stare or mention it to be rude.

"You must forgive first impressions, _perdere."_ Maurizio cut in, as if reading her thoughts. "We may look a bit different, but we are all not used to our flaws. I hope I didn't startle you."

Lindy chuckled. "Nope, I'm not startled. I've just never seen someone with amputated limbs."

 _"Ampu-tee!_ Please! Correct terminology!" Maurizio corrected. "But, we do hope you enjoy your stay here with Master Adrian. The house is yours now, so feel free to explore, indulge, and rest in any room you like."

"Except for the first floor."

Lindy and Maurizio turned to look at the blind man, Maurizio quickly glancing a "shut the hell up!" look. She turned to both men with a questioning look.

"Which we don't have!" the blind man quickly added.

"Very smooth, Will," Maurizio muttered.

"Why?" Lindy asked. "What's on the first floor?"

"Uh...n-nothing! Storage! Storage space!" Maurizio stuttered.

Lindy flattened her eyebrows over her eyes, clearly not buying their cover-up. As she was about to speak, a sound much like thunder rattled the walls following by an anguished cry. She clung to Maurizio in fear, shivering a bit.

"This way, _per favore._ To the 3rd floor suite." Maurizio said, eager to move them along.

"Or, as we call it," Will added. "The _only_ suite!"

Lindy took one last glance over her shoulder before following Maurizio down the stairs, Will pushing her along from the back. They journeyed down two flights, down another hallway, and up to a painted white door with a silver handle.

"Welcome to your new home!" Maurizio announced.

Her hand hovered the doorknob. She wasn't sure what to expect, an elegant room or a dusty hovel. As Maurizio took the knob for her, she decided anything be would be better than the attic. She held back a gasp. They were right when they said "suite". In front of her was a small living space, fully furnished with a chaise lounge in front of a glass coffee table and a fireplace. The bedroom was just behind it, with satin white sheets and curtains on the canopy. A small vanity next to a door, presumably the closet, sat opposite to a large bay window overlooking the Brooklyn streets. The ceiling, which she assumed to be empty, was covered in intricate vine patterns with roses.

"It's gorgeous," she breathed.

"But of course!" Maurizio said. "Master Adrian wanted you to have the finest room in the house." He thrust open the curtains, a cloud of dust flying across the room. "Forgive us, but we were not expecting visitors."

As if on cue, a woman with long black hair and dark skin floated into the room, cleaning products behind her.

"Don' worry, _senorita,"_ she said, her voice slurred. "I will have dis room clean in no time."

She sprayed some air freshener about the room until Maurizio took her in his arm, decorating her neck with kisses.

"Dis plan of yours..." she giggled. "is dangerous."

"I would do anything to let you hear my voice, Lucena." he said, going in for another kiss, but quickly pushed back.

"No, my love. I still have splinters. You must be strong!"

"Oh, how can I be strong when you make me so weak?" he leaned back in, the two flirtatiously engaging looks. Only when Will cleared his throat did the two look up.

Lindy stifled a giggle, moving about the room. It was intricately decorated with vases of roses and other trinkets. "Is everything humanoid just someone with a handicap?" she asked, walking up to cupid statue. "Hi there. What's _your_ name?"

Will cleared his throat again. "I may be blind, but I do know that is just a statue."

Maurizio chuckled behind her. She rolled her eyes as Lucena flew over to a door at the end of the living room, presumably leading to another bedroom. She knocked on it loudly, then stepped back. The door suddenly burst open, a woman in a red dress and long scarf dramatically entering the room. Lindy had to blink a few times to ask herself if this was really happening.

"Do not be alarmed, _perdere."_ Maurizio said. "This is your maid, Mrs. Ruan Liqin. A great Chinese opera singer."

"If she can stay awake, that is," Will muttered.

"Oh, ho, ho! Will," Mrs. Ruan laughed. "A diva needs her beauty sleep."

"Stay with us, Liqin," Maurizio said. "We have someone for you to dress."

 _Dress?_ Lindy thought. _What century is this?_ Before she could ask, Mrs. Ruan ran up to Lindy, smushing her face with her hands.

"Pretty eyes, proud face, golden freckles! Perfect canvas, yes! I will give you something worthy of a princess."

Lindy shook her head. "I'm not a princess."

"Nonsense!" the woman exclaimed, running for the closet. Lindy turned to run, but was quickly yanked back. Fabric surrounded her vision as a pink dress was lifted over her head. She felt her waist grow smaller with the ribbon being tied; she gasped. Her hair was bundled together on top of her head and pinned with two chopsticks.

"PERFECT!" Mrs. Ruan proclaimed.

"Perfect is an understatement," Maurizio said, him and the others slowly backing towards the door. "If you need anything, the rest of the staff will be glad to attend to you. We hope to see you at dinner." And, with that, he shut the door. Lindy heard a thud, finding Mrs. Ruan fast asleep on the chaise lounge. Lindy knelt down and crawled her way out of the horrendous pile of fabric. With everyone gone and her only supervisor asleep, now was the time to make a run for it. She scanned the room, searching for any openings.

She made for the window, forcing it open. It was a 20 foot drop to the sidewalk below and no people out and about at the moment. She turned back to the hideous dress she'd slipped out of and she flicked on the lights, signaling the lightbulb in her brain.

* * *

The kitchen was buzzing with excitement, the topic of this new guest in the house being thrown from person to person. Magda, the kindly head-maid and chef, was simmering something on the stove while her son Felix slid around on the newly waxed floors.

"Mama, there's a girl in the house!" he exclaimed.

" _Si,_ Felix. We know," she said gently.

"Is she pretty? Is she nice? Do you think she likes art? Or music? What kind of food does she like? _San Jacobos? Patatas Bravas? Gazpacho?_ "

Magda scooped her son off the floor, giggling. "Slow down, _mijo._ You'll break your nose." She set the food on the dining room table and reentered the kitchen, wiping her forehead with her apron.

"It feels so nice to cook again," she said to Maurizio. "I do love Master Adrian's...food choices. But I do not think you should eat chicken for desert."

"Then you can make churros," Maurizio suggested.

Meanwhile, Adrian lurked up the stairs and found the dining room lit. He walked over to his side of the table and slowly sat down, examining everything. He finally looked up to find another set of plates and silverware on the other side of the table. In a rage, he swiped the plates and silverware off the table and stormed towards the kitchen.

"MAURIZIO!"

The entirety of the kitchen staff jumped, Will looking a bit shaken.

"Be calm, everyone," Maurizio said. "Let me do the talking."

The kitchen door burst open, Adrian charging in to lock eyes with Maurizio. Predatory eyes.

"You're making her dinner?!"

"We thought you might appreciate the company," he said nervously.

Adrian turned to Will, poking his chest with a clawed finger. "And you let this happen?"

Will shook his head. "I tried to stop him. But I wanted nothing to do with this: giving her dinner, designing a dress for her, giving her the third floor Master Suite."

" _You gave her a friggin' bedroom?!"_ Adrian growled.

"No," Will said. " _He_ gave her a bedroom!"

"This is true!" Maurizio admitted. "But if this girl is our...your only chance, then maybe you could start by using dinner to charm her. Good thinking, Will."

" _What?!"_

"That's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard out of you two!" Adrian said. " _Charm_ the bitch."

"But you must try, Master Adrian," Maurizio pled, his voice growing serious. "With every passing day, we fade more and more."

Adrian shook his head. Only he could get them out of this; his fate was their fates. But how could he when the only girl in the house able to do so is...

"She's the daughter of a drug addict. What type of person do you think that makes her?"

"Oh, now you cannot judge someone by whom their father was, now can you?" Magda pressed.

Adrian locked eyes with Magda but didn't say a word. The room went heavy. Magda knew more than anyone how much Adrian's father had hurt him. He grunted and turned from the kitchen. Knowing that he couldn't be left alone with Lindy to ask her to dinner, the entire staff rushed after him.

* * *

Adrian stood in front of the Master Suite door, the suite that now belonged to Lindy. Behind him, his staff waiting for anything to possibly go wrong. He raised his paw up and knocked on the door.

"You'll come down to dinner with me!" he said. "And it's not a request."

Magda stepped forward first. "Gently, sir. The poor girl's lost her father and freedom in one day."

"Yes," Maurizio agreed. "The poor blossom is probably in there scared to death."

Adrian sighed, tired of the useless advice. He knew how to talk to girls, he'd done it a thousand times. How could this one be any different? He knocked again, this time receiving a response.

"One second!" Lindy's voice muffled behind the door.

"Oh there she is!" Maurizio said happily. "Now, remember. Be gentle."

"Kind..." Magda added.

"Charming..." Lucena said blissfully.

"Sweet..." Will said.

"Suave..." Felix said.

"And when she opens the door, give her a dashing, daring smile!" Maurizio finished. "Come, show me the smile."

"Uh..." Adrian hadn't smiled in over a year. He never had a need to. He wasn't even sure if he knew how anymore. A quick glance to Magda made him silence his thoughts and try to turn the corners of his mouth. He clenched his teeth, trying to smile. Hearing the frightened voices from his staff, he wiped it off. He turned back to the door, trying to gather all possible composure to ask her.

He took a deep breath and said. "Will you join me...for dinner?" He rolled his eyes in disgust, having heard what that sounded like. It sounded so desperate, so awkward.

Lindy finally spoke. "You've taken me prisoner, assaulted my family, and thoroughly insulted me. And now you expect that I'm going to have dinner with you? Are you out of your mind?!"

The repercussion of his question hit him as his expression grew dark. He clenched his fist by his sides, ready to smash one into the wall. Magda set her hand on his shoulder.

"No, Adrian. You must be reasonable."

"But she is being so... _difficult!"_ he said painstakingly slow. He dug his clawed fingers into his palms. "Will you come down to dinner?"

"No!"

Adrian pointed at the door in frustration. Magda said a few more words of encouragement before he started again.

"It would really be great...if you'd join me for dinner!" he said.

"Ahlshlds-WeSayPlease." Will mumbled.

"Please," Adrian blurted out.

"No, no, and no!" Lindy shouted.

He couldn't control it any longer. He pounded on the door madly with his fist, hopefully scaring her.

"I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN TO DINNER!" he yelled.

"And I told you NO!" she yelled back. "I'd rather starve to death than eat with scum like you!"

"Well, go ahead then! Be my guest! See what I care if you starve!" he turned back to his servants, Maurizio especially. He leaned in close. "If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat _AT ALL_! Morons!"

He charged down the hallway, ignoring the calls of the staff to come back. What were they even thinking? That this girl would _swoon_ at the idea of eating with him? More likely pass out of utter disgust! She wouldn't eat if she did come to dinner! Not when she was with him. He thrust open the doors to the first floor, running down the stairs and stalked over to his room, two roses on the stand in the far corner of his suite. They were safely secured under a glass bell jar, a silver mirror beside it. He picked it up and gave it a simple command.

"Show me the girl."

The image changed from his grotesque image to Lindy, her back against the wall and her knees held to her chest. Her face wasn't exactly fear or sadness. More of despair and anxiety. He set the mirror down. This girl was confusing him too much. What was wrong with her? He took his gaze to the two roses on the lamp table. One was already dead on the table, its partner clinging to life. He sighed, watching as another white petal fell from the stem and turned brown on the table.

* * *

The staff gather in the parlor on the second floor. Will suddenly gasped, holding his head in pain. "It's...happening again."

Lucena suddenly heard a wave of ringing in her ears before going silent, hearing barely a muffle from her peers. Felix tugged his mother's sleeve and pointed to his mouth, revealing a small gap in his mouth. He gasped as his mother's hair took a lighter shade of gray. Maurizio gasped in pain as his right elbow began inverting on itself, going up to his shoulder.

"Another petal has fallen," he said, his voice full of sorrow.

"Maurizio, I can barely hear the sound of my own voice. What will we do?" Lucena asked, her voice slurring even more.

"Hope."


	6. Chapter 5: She's Our Guest

**Thanks so much for following my story, I hope you enjoy. Please favorite and follow, it really helps me out. And comment in Reviews. Do you like where this is headed? Do you not? Is there anything I should change? Please let me know!**

 **For all my Korean fans,** 안녕하세요. 감사합니다. 나는 네 언어를 좋아한다.

* * *

+The bar was humming with patrons, most drunk and the others out cold. Victor sat at the end of the bar, throwing darts at the target while he sipped at his beer. "I offer her money, food, a decent place, and what does she say? Stay away from me."

"Come on, man. You're too good for that bitch," said Marcelo, the bartender scrubbing a beer mug. "There are plenty of other girls who'd be willing to ride off into the sunset with you."

Victor threw another dart. "The hunter doesn't waste his time with rabbits."

"Come on! You're the biggest, baddest crime boss in Brownsville. Most powerful too. And not bad looking. What lady wouldn't want you as their love-maker. If Lil' Linda can't see that, then screw her!"

Victor managed a grin. Yes, those things were true, but what were they if Lindy didn't believe them? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by screams at the front door.

"Help! Someone help me!"

Victor looked over his shoulder to find Daniel, screaming like a lunatic. His eyes were wild and his clothes were filthy. Nothing unusual, but his voice was surprisingly clear. He was shouting at people, shaking one of the patrons by the shoulders. Another drew their gun at him. Victor quickly got up and approached Daniel. He saw Victor instantly and ran up to him.

"Victor, you'll help me, won't you?" he asked.

"Help you what?"

"It's Lindy! He's got her! He's got her locked in an attic!"

Victor chuckled. "Who's got Lindy locked in an attic?"

"A beast! He was tall and hairy and had claws and fangs! You have to help her, before she dies there."

The bar went silent before erupting with laughter. Daniel's face fell in despair. Victor saw the look on the man's face, and saw an opportunity. "Shut up! Stop laughing at him. Okay, Dan. I'll help you."

"Really?" Daniel asked. Victor nodded and waved Marcelo over to follow him. "Thank you, Victor!"

The two men were pulled out of the door by Daniel as he rambled on. He ran up to the turnoff to the busy street. "It was here we turned. We went down 40 miles...east. To Brooklyn! No, wait. That pass wasn't there before. Uh...up, over...loop-de-loop."

Marcelo leaned on Victor's shoulder. "You sure you wanna marry into this family?"

Victor shook Marcelo off and charged up to Daniel. "Okay, Danny. That's enough. How much do you want?"

Daniel's face fell in confusion. "How much? Wh-What are you talking about? This is serious!"

"I'll tell you what's serious. What's serious is that you are wasting my time out here and you're wasting your own time when you owe me 23 grand! So stop with the games and tell me where Lindy is!" Victor demanded, his voice growing dark.

"She was taken by that beast!"

This man was being very difficult right now. "Listen, old man! There is no such thing as a beast. Or invisible servants. Or MAGIC! But there _are_ gangs, and muggers, and cops!" Victor took a breath, trying to keep his temper intact. "So, why don't we just lead you home where Lindy is probably making you a delicious dinner..."

"You think I've made this up?!" Daniel snapped.

"Of course, Dan! You're high on something! No one would help you except to help you to a hospital!"

"If that's all, then why did you offer to help?" Daniel asked.

"Because I want my money, and I want Lindy! I want your daughter!" He didn't bother to cover it up now. There was no need and no one would believe anything Daniel said. "Now, let's go home..."

"Lindy is not at home. She's with the - " Victor suddenly launched his hand into the old man's throat.

"You feeling _strong_ , my friend? Say beast _one more_ time! _I dare you to get yourself murdered_!"

Marcelo ran up to Victor, taking him by the shoulders. "Wait, wait, wait. Vic, think happy thoughts. Go back to the gang days. The money, dead rivals, and the helpless groupies."

" _Groupies..._ " Victor said wistfully, clearing his throat. "You'll have to forgive me, Dan. That's no way to treat my future father-in-law."

Daniel shook his head slowly backing away from the two. "I've hurt my daughter too many times. I may sober up and make more mistakes, but I'm not going to make that same mistake again. So help me, if you touch her, you're dead!"

Victor stared at the old man with a flat expression. Daniel stood still for a most, nervous of a reaction. Without warning, Victor took Daniel's head and rammed it into his own, knocking him out cold. Marcelo opened his eyes from his cringing position to find Victor in a nearby alley, tying a wire to Daniel's wrists and around his neck to a drain pipe on the side of a building. Marcelo ran over, a bit surprised.

"What are you doing?"

"If Dan won't give me good will, then he's in my way. No one will know. He dies in this alley tonight. Elements at best, thieves at the worst. I'll get Lindy with me and she'll lead me right to my money! I'm not backing down on this one, Marc!"

* * *

 _Screw this, I'm outta here!_ Lindy thought, tying the last of the expensive clothing together. Gazing over the side of the building, she hurriedly knotted one end around the leg of her bed and tossed the rest out the window. It stopped about five feet off the ground, but it would have to do. She had just taken a deep breath and linked her legs around the fabric when another knock came at the door. Panicked, she quickly shoveled half the fabric back into the house and stashed it behind the bed.

"I told you I'm not going to dinner!"

"Do not worry, _senorita_. I am Magda, the housekeeper." The door swung open a moment later, an old woman with a young child in her arms pushed an old-timey food trolley into the suite. She assumed the old woman was Magda.

"It's very lovely to meet you," the old woman said, but catching something behind Lindy. Fabric tied together and dangling out the window. This did not surprise her. This girl had no reason to feel welcome here and she seemed like a clever, independent girl. But she was not ready to let her leave. Having lived with stubborn people, she found that it was best to bribe people into doing what they didn't want by doing it of their own free will.

"It's a long trip." Lindy blushed, knowing she had been caught. "I've always found that life is a little bit lighter after a hot cup of coffee. Felix?"

The little boy, Felix, jumped out of her arms and to the cart. He bent down under the cloth covering the trolley and came back out with hot mug of coffee. He slowly maneuvered towards Lindy so as not to spill the drink and gingerly handed it to her. She took a small sip before she noticed the bitter taste. It must've been painful for a little boy to be trapped in this house.

"Would you like some sugar? I can do a trick with that." He took the cup and set it on the coffee table. Pulling two sugar packs from the cart, he tore both open, poured them into the mug and stirred it carefully. He finally gave it back to her. A slight humanoid form appeared in the sugar and cream. "It's Master Adrian." He laughed.

"Felix!" Magda scolded.

"Sorry, Mama."

"Mama?" Lindy asked. "You're his mother?"

"Looks can be quite fooling. I am not so old as I look, nor is he so young."

Lindy took a glance at Felix. "How old _are_ you, then?"

"I'm almost fifteen," he said. Lindy nearly spat out her coffee. This kid couldn't have looked more than five years old. What was happening in this house?

"That was very brave of you to do such a thing for your father," Magda said.

"Yes," Mrs. Ruan agreed, looking up from the lounge. "We all think so."

Lindy sighed. "He's never been on his own. And with his addiction, I don't know how much longer he'd going to last."

"Cheer up, _senorita._ Everything will end just fine." She turned to the other side of the cart, ushering Felix along. "You'll feel so much better after dinner."

"Dinner?" Lindy asked. "But he said - "

"People talk, but do they mean them?" Magda asked. Lindy thought back to people she knew; her father, her sisters, the president. She supposed that she could have dinner, but just this once. "Coming, love?"

* * *

"She's coming! Final checks! _Velocemente!"_

Maurizio burst into the kitchen, Lucena and Magda quickly rushing to prepare something quick, but acceptable. Everyone in the kitchen knew how important this was, except for Will, apparently.

"No, you don't!" he called after him. "If Adrian finds out you fed her, he'll blame me!"

"Yes, _mio amico._ I will make sure of it! But did you see her stand up to him? I'm telling you, this girl is The One. They have to fall in love if we are ever able to be whole again and how can that happen if they both stay in their rooms?"

He rushed through the dining room, making sure everything was spotless and repositioning the flatware.

"You know she'll never love him," Will whispered.

"A broken clock is only right two times a day, but now is not one of those times!" Maurizio rushed back into the kitchen, surveying the work of Lucena and Magda. He took a sip from some soup. "Mmm...My taste buds are gone, but I can tell this is magnificent!" Magda shooed him off, leaving him to polish some silverware.

"Not so loud!" Will demanded. "Keep it down!"

"Yes, yes, yes. Of course," Maurizio said half-heartedly. "But what's dinner without music?"

" _Music?!"_

Too late. Maurizio was already bounding over to another part of the house guiding Mr. Ruan, the musician. into the dining room with his guzheng. He sat down in the corner of the dining room.

"Mr. Ruan, if you would please entertain our dear guest, Miss Lindy Owens."

"I don't know if I remember how." Mr. Ruan said, until he began swiftly playing the eerily beautiful music. Maurizio and Will stood in half-delight until Mr. Ruan suddenly stopped, clutching his right hand. "Damn! Arthritis again."

"Mr. Ruan, your wife is upstairs finding it harder and harder to stay awake. You must help us in breaking this curse!" Maurizio begged.

"Then I shall play through the aching joints," he proclaimed.

Will cleared his throat. "Sir. P-Play quietly, please."

Mr. Ruan laughed. "Quietly, yes. _Qiāoqiāo._ Do you have any other _tasteless_ demands you wish to put upon my artistry?"

Will shrugged. "No, that's all."

The dining room doors then opened, Lindy stepping inside and taking her seat. Maurizio saw the uneasiness in her eyes. Giving Mr. Ruan one last look, he stepped up to her seat.

" _Mia cara signora,_ it is our great honor to have you here with us tonight. Now, we invite you to sit back, relax, as we proudly present to you...your dinner."

Lindy sat confused for a minute, the guzheng from behind her acting as some background music. As food came rushing out of the kitchen, she began to settle back, imagining herself in China in an authentic Chinese restaurant, cherry blossoms floating from the tree outside. She reached out for some bread, but it was quickly picked back up. She reached for a soup bowl with a spoon, but it was quickly covered.

Plates and plates of food seemed to multiply in front of her. She grabbed the nearest dish and held it close to her side of the table so as not to get it taken away. She tasted the best picadillo she'd ever eaten, along with some tamales and gazpacho. She'd rest back, thinking she was full, but as soon as something else was put out in front of her, she found room. Finally, the music stopped and Lindy was allowed to get up. She thanked Maurizio and proceeded with Magda to the hallway.

"I...I don't understand," Lindy thought aloud.

"Don't understand what?" Magda asked.

"Why you're all being so nice to me," Lindy answered.

"You don't deserve anything less, _senorita."_

"But, don't you want to leave? You could see some doctors and get away from here. Why do you stay?"

"Master Adrian is not as bad and cruel as he appears," Magda said motherly. "Somewhere deep down, there's a King...of a man inside that's just waiting to be set free."

Whilst talking, they had made their way to Lindy's room, standing outside the door. "Maurizio mentioned something about the first floor..."

"Never mind about the first floor. The hour is late. Goodnight, _senorita."_ The old woman started back up the hallway and up the stairs. Lindy waited until her footsteps faded completely before going back up the hallway and down the stairs. She knew that she should be escaping, but the first floor had her thinking. Could there be more victims hidden down there? If so, she may have to get law enforcement involved.

Besides, it was just a quick look. Adrian would never know.


	7. Chapter 6: The First Floor

Lindy was beginning to think that this was a mistake. She almost thought the door to the first floor would break off if she pulled too hard. The stairway was dark, as well as the hallway. It looked much like the upstairs from what she saw. She noticed how the walls were a dark shade of green, but some of the wallpaper was peeling, as if it had been shredded off. She heard a crunch beneath her feet and looked down to find the floor littered with broken glass. She turned her gaze to the walls and found every picture frame shattered. She swallowed.

"Okay," she whispered. "There must be something he's hiding down here. Why else would they tell me not to come down here?"

She peeked through one doorway. From the light she had, she could make out a destroyed living area. She cautiously stepped inside before she could tell herself that this was probably a bad idea. Broken furniture was everywhere, evidence of Adrian's temper. Rugs and decorative curtains hung in shreds. Vases and pictures that had once been beautiful were left broken on the floor. A huge four-poster bed lay untouched. Lindy ran a finger over the quilt. It was caked in dust. As she look around, she saw why. What was left of a couch was tucked in a corner, patches of stuffing, feathers, and bones shoved together to make a sort of nest. Lindy shuddered inside knowing this man was living in animalistic manner.

She stepped back in a sort of shock, trotting over another picture. Unlike the others, it seemed in good condition. She carefully brushed away the broken glass and slipped the picture from the frame. It was still torn, two of the faces bloated out. She made out a young boy, about six or seven years old. His face was slashed, as if punctured by a hole-punch. The only feature she could clearly recognize was the piercing blue eyes. Familiar blue eyes. Her eyes went to the woman in the picture, her image still in perfect condition. She was smiling, her gorgeous face and loving eyes reflecting a jovial personality. The man, on the other hand, had been almost completely ripped off. She folded the picture and shoved it into her pocket.

A sudden glow from one end of the suite made her jump, thinking someone had found her down there. But there was no one. She puzzled, wondering where the glow had come from until it came again, but brighter. She whirled around and found something...unearthly. A white rose, open and in wide bloom with a few broken petals. It was beautiful, so much that she found herself approaching it. As she approached, she found that another rose was beside it and they were under the same jar. But the other rose was dead. Why wouldn't they clean it up?

Maybe it was poor thinking or shear curiosity, but she reached took take the bell jar in her hands, her fingers tingling. It felt powerful, magical.

" _WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"_

She was suddenly pushed away, so hard that she stumbled to the floor. Adrian stood over her, checking the rose in a panic. He was hyperventilating, fear welling up inside Lindy.

" _WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT?!"_ he roared.

"No-No-Nothing," she stammered.

He grabbed her by the arm, his grip so tight he felt his claws pierce her skin. " _DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE?! YOU COULD HAVE DAMNED US!"_ She swung her fist into his muzzle, giving her a chance to make a run for it. _"GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT!"_

She didn't need to be told twice. She sprinted up the stairs, past Maurizio and Will playing chess.

"Where are you going?"

"That's the final straw! I'm leaving!" she announced, reaching for the door. She gasped as someone held her back, one arm going around her neck. She struggled, the staff screaming at each other to stop her. She knew this tactic was unorthodox to say the very least, but she stuck out her tongue and pressed it to the arm around her neck. The man, Will of all people, released her in disgust. She bolted for the door, twisting it violently and shoving herself out.

"No!" Magda cried. "Come back! It's dangerous!"

* * *

Lindy ran down the dark sidewalk, clutching her bleeding arm. She had no idea where she was going, but knew she wouldn't get far on foot. She slid to a halt at the sight of a moped tied to a fenced tree. She yanked on the chain until it broke, give her some time to jump on and speed off down the street. Returning the moped was the least if her concerns at the moment. The night air whipped her hair back, closing her eyes against the wind. She looked over shoulder briefly to find no one following her, but she nearly crashed in stopping the moped right in front of a 2008 Chevrolet SUV.

She stood still in fear, watching as the headlights flicked on and four men stepped out. The click of presumably a gun made her spring back into life and rev up the moped, speeding as fast as it would let her. She heard the engine of a car close behind her, men yelling. She make a sudden turn onto an industrial area, the buildings obviously warehouses and factories. Not safe, but she could lose them in there.

She swerved into a narrow alley, too thin for the car to follow. Unfortunately for her, it was more of a labyrinth of which way was left or right. She didn't have time to decide which way, not when the car doors of the SUV were slamming shut behind her. The strongest kind of fear coursed through her. What was she thinking?! Nothing apparently! She was too scared to think rationally and now she's going to die.

As she was berating herself, she had inadvertently found an exit, but it was blocked. Impulse took over and she made a sharp turn, donutting around the men and back into the alley.

"I think that was just about the coolest thing I've ever done in my life," she said between breaths. She yelped, making another sharp turn down the alley. These sharp turns were making her dizzy, and the speed of the moped made it hard to concentrate. She knew she'd lost control when her face hit metal and then concrete. Laying on the ground and clutching her bloodied arm, she struggled to regain her footing. She looked up and felt her will to live drop. They were all approaching. What did they want? Money? Sex? Murder?! She screamed as one of them yanked her by the ankle. This was it. She was going to die in a dark alley in Brooklyn all because she made a stupid mistake.

Screams from the men opened her eyes and the grip on her ankle disappeared. The man restraining her was now up against the wall, his shoulder bleeding. Lindy looked up, Adrian's back to her.

"Adrian?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her before pouncing on another man, tossing him on top of a dumpster. The other three tried to attack, drawing knives. Adrian ripped them off as quickly as they jumped on, which made for quite an unusual and horrific sight. One of the three had succeeded in driving his blade into Adrian's shoulder blade before Adrian threw him into the wall and, with a sickening crack, laid motionless. He took a glance at the other two and growled loudly. They turned and hurriedly disappeared down the alley.

Adrian was breathing heavily, blood pouring down his back from the stab wound. He turned over his shoulder, his body hunched over. He finally dropped to his knees and collapsed. The ground beneath him was turning wet, blood dripping onto the pavement. He was barely moving. Lindy knew this was her chance. She dashed for the moped on the other side of the dumpster and hopped on, ready to speed away. A whimper caught her attention.

She turned back to Adrian, who was in no attempt trying to get up. Her eyes locked with his, and for the briefest moment she saw pain and vulnerability in them. A twinge of guilt shot through her stomach, tying it into a knot. She couldn't leave him here, not after what he'd done for her. She slid from the seat and slowly approached the wounded beast. She slipping out of her jacket and threw it over his shoulders, hopefully putting some pressure on the worst of his wounds. He gazed up at her, his eyes half open.

"You have to help me," she whispered. "You're going to have to stand up."

He sighed, laying his head back down. She knelt down, taking one of his arms over her shoulder and helping him to his feet. His weight nearly knocked her to the ground, but she rested him on the seat of the moped and began dragging it by the handlebars back to the house.

* * *

Lindy waited patiently, listening to Adrian's cries downstairs. Lucena stared at Lindy as she stitched up her still open arm. She snapped the last thread and tied it into a little knot.

"Dat should last for while. Pain meds will wear off soon."

Lindy turned to the young maid. "Do you have any for Adrian?"

Lucena stared at her, bewildered for a moment, before shaking her head. "Pain med all used. Use it a lot on Master Adrian."

Another cry echoed from the first floor, Lindy jumping. Lucena took her arm again and wrapped it tightly in a bandage. After securing the wound, Lindy stood up and stretched. She thought about going to bed, since there would be no way she was escaping now. She'd had her chance. But the loud screams of pain from downstairs were enough to persuade her otherwise. She grabbed Lucena's sewing kit and extra bandages and ran to the first floor stairway.

She found Adrian writhing on the floor of his bedroom, clutching his shoulder. Lindy slowly paced toward him, trying not to startle him. He abruptly lifted his head to stare at her. Lindy started but retained her composure as she knelt down to meet his eyes. He gasped for air, glaring at her.

"What do you want?" he mumbled.

"I want to make sure that stab wound doesn't get infected," she said dryly. "Let me help you."

He sighed and struggled to his feet. He stumbled against the column of his bed before collapsing in it. Lindy turned him onto his stomach, careful not to inflict too much pain on him when she brushed his fur aside to examine the wound. It was still open and deep. It would need stitches.

"It looks pretty bad," she said. "It's going to need stitches, so this is going to hurt."

"Wait!"

She brought the needle to his skin, trying to figure out a way around the fur. He roared in pain, flinching away from her.

"I'm sorry, just try to hold still."

She dug the needle through his back and out, pulling at the wound to close. He writhed against her, trying to swat her away.

"Stop moving," she ordered gently.

"You're making it worse!" he snapped.

"You're making yourself worse," she argued. "Besides, if you held still it wouldn't hurt as much."

"Well, if _you_ hadn't run off, none of this would have happened!"

 _"_ If _you_ hadn't scared the shit out of me, I wouldn't have run away!"

"W-Well...well, _you_ shouldn't have been on the first floor!"

He had a point there, but she wasn't willing to back down. She felt she was doing it for a good cause, granted it was none of her business. She still had to shut him down to finish with his stitches.

"I'm sorry I went down here. I didn't know it was your room. But you could have killed me! At the very least, you should learn to control that temper of yours."

He blinked at her, clearly surprised by her statement. He scanned her, his eyes going from her serious face to her bandaged arm. She reached for the wound again while he was distracted, stitching it up with less difficulty and tying it. She mustered a slight smile as a thanks before standing back up.

"Try to get some rest," she whispered before turning from the bed and slowly exiting the room, Adrian looking after her. She paused at the door, wondering what in the world just happened, before pulling it open and quietly shutting it behind her.

"Thank you." A voice behind her made her yelp, finding the house staff behind her. Had they been eavesdropping on her conversation with Adrian? If so, that would explain some things.

"We cannot thank you enough for bringing him home," Magda said.

"Why do you care about him so much?" Lindy asked. "He has you trapped here with him. But you didn't do anything."

Magda nodded. "You are right, _senorita._ You see, when his mother left, his father took that sweet little boy away from her. He held onto hope that he would see her again, but she died sometime later. That was when his cruel father's words twisted him to be just like him. We did nothing."

Lindy glanced back at Adrian's door, crushed by what she'd learned. She'd had a lost childhood, but the mental and emotional abuse must've hurt him far more than the physical abuse she'd endured with her father's drug-induced rages. From what she could remember, her father would have done anything to protect her. Before he started abusing his atarax. Lindy knew well what that loss and disappointment felt like, feeling as if their own parent had given up on them.

"Let him sleep," Maurizio said, leading the others back upstairs. Lindy waited until they'd disappeared before opening the door and peeking in. Relieved when hearing the sound noise of Adrian's breathing, she closed the door. The hatred in her heart was gone, only feeling pity.

* * *

 _Kyle stood over his mother's casket. Tears rolled down his face and onto hers. She looked so peaceful, but so sad. He reached to take her hand, but his was smacked back to his coat. Rob Kingsbury looked down at his son sternly. Kyle stared at his feet, feeling even lower. He felt his shoulders squeeze from his father's hands. He was then pulled backwards, away from his mother._

 _"No!" he cried, twisting away from his father's hard grip. He flew back to his mother's coffin, sobbing at the edge of the wood. He grasped her hand, limp and cold in his own. He was babbling incoherently, begging his mother to wake up. He was yanked back once again, his dad slinging him over his shoulder. Kyle kicked and screamed against him, reaching out for his mom. But he watched with a broken heart as her image became smaller and smaller until she disappeared._


	8. Chapter 7: The Library

Lindy decided that if she were to be staying in this house, she'd make her time productive. For about a week, she'd asked Magda if she could bring Adrian his lunch. Most of the time when she went down there, he was asleep. She'd set the food on the night table and carefully take his temperature and check the wound on his back when possible. On this particular day, he was laying on his back, which must've been uncomfortable. She was without her thermometer at that time, so she reached out to lightly press her fingers on his forehead. She was too focused on his temperature to notice a smile curling on his mouth.

She sat back in the chair beside the bed, trying to think of a way to keep herself occupied. She thought back to her Shakespeare, 16th century England with Renaissance cultures. She'd seen one play ( _Twelfth Night)_ and loved it. Her mind wandered to her favorite scene.

" _The honourable lady of the house, which is she?_ Speak to me; I shall answer for her. Your will? _Most radiant, exquisite, and unmatchable beauty - I pray you, tell me if this be the lady of the house, for I never saw her: I would be loth to cast away my speech; for, besides that it is excellently well penn'd, I have taken great pains to con it. Good beauties, let me sustain no scorn; I am very comptible, even to the least sinister usage._ Whence you came sir? _I can say little more than I have studied, and that question's out of my part. Good gentle one, give me modest assurance if you be the lady of the house, that I may proceed in my speech._ Are you a comedian? _No, my profound heart, and yet, by the very - "_

 _"..the very fangs of malice, I am not what I play."_

She glanced up from her poetry to find Adrian awake and staring at her. She blushed knowing he had heard her recite Shakespeare out loud. But he didn't seem angry or even bored. Hell, he'd finished her quote.

"You know Shakespeare?"

Adrian pushed himself to his elbows and shrugged. "Will likes to think I'm interested in that stuff, so he reads to me sometimes."

Lindy smiled, a bit giddy to know that she had someone who understood what she liked. "Well, actually, _Romeo and Juliet_ was the first play I read, of course. It's actually one of my favorites."

Adrian smacked his paw to his forehead, running it down his face. "Why is that not surprising?"

Lindy knitted her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"How can you enjoy all that gushy romance and poetry over love and - _bleh -!_ It just gets so old so quickly. Besides, Juliet is, what, 13 and she's getting married to a guy she barely knows but loves and he's possibly in his 20s. Is that the kind of thing you're into?"

Lindy blinked, having never thought of it that way. Sure Juliet was young, but that's how young women were married then, no matter how old the man she was marrying was - Wait a minute. She rolled her eyes. He was trying to downplay her favorite play. She slumped back into her chair.

"Whatever. It's Shakespeare, he does a lot of weird things in his plays, like question sexuality and the roles of women in society. Besides, love is love."

"Oh, _b_ _leugh!_ " he retaliated, making Lindy smirk. "There are lots of other things better than Shakespeare, you know."

This caught her attention. "Like what?"

He shove the covers off of him, Lindy diving to help him. He stopped her enough to walk over to the closet and put on a clean, plain T-shirt. He moved towards the door, near the stairs.

"You coming?"

She hustled after him, Adrian leading the way back to the 3rd floor. They passed her room and came across a large wooden sliding door. Adrian slid the door open, stepping into the room with Lindy in tow.

"There are a few things in here you could start with."

* * *

Adrian turned around to find Lindy planted to the floor, staring up at the library they'd kept in the extra living room. Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide and her arms straight to her side.

"You okay?" he asked. She glanced around her, taking in the sight of the room before answering him.

"It's...it's _amazing!"_ she squealed.

He stared up at the books, trying to feel what she was feeling. They were books, words on paper that had no meaning or purpose. But she was excited, thrilled even, to be seeing this room. It was as if she had seen an angel land in front of her.

"Y-Yeah, I...I guess it is," he replied. "Well, if you like it so much, then its yours."

"Really?" she asked. Adrian nodded. "Thank you!" He turned to leave her with her own devices when she asked him a question. "Have you read all of these books?"

He whirled around in surprise, shocked that she would genuinely want to know. He scoffed and shook his head. "Not _all_ of them. Some of them are in Korean."

"Was that a joke?" she asked. He didn't know. Was it? "Are you making jokes now?"

He shrugged. "...maybe?"

She giggled. Adrian returned to his journey to the other side of the room. The look on her face. She'd been...happy. Happy that he'd given her this library. Could that turn into happiness with him. He shook his head. He had to stop thinking like that. It was hopeless, she'd never love him. No number of books could change that. But from the squeal he heard behind her, he couldn't help but smile.

He stayed over there for quite some time, not wanting Lindy to have be around him for more than she had to. He took the time to collect his own books from the back of the room. _The Last of the Mohicans_ sat right where he'd left it last and he traveled to the nearby chair to catch up. He could hear Lindy's giggling, along with page flipping and the occasional book dropping to the floor for her to pick up. It was only ten minutes in when he realized he was no longer focused on the French Indian War and more concentrated on Lindy and how happy she sounded.

* * *

They'd been up there for a while when Magda finally called them down for dinner. He stood from his chair and stalked downstairs to the dining room and stopped. Lindy was already there, folding her napkin over her lap. She looked up and smiled. "Hi!"

He knitted the lines of hair used for eyebrows. "Hi? You're eating with me?"

"I guess it does seem hypocritical, but I don't think it is polite to go down to sneak something at 3 AM."

He remembered his earlier comment and sighed silently. He would've left her to starve over something as stupid as refusing. What was he expecting anyway? After being kidnapped, he expected just as much out of her. He slowly shuffled to his seat across the table. Everything looked as Magda had prepared it except for an open book on a small easel.

"I thought you might want to read something while you eat too," Lindy explained, revealing her own book. "I tried not to make it a romance novel. Just tell me if you don't like it and I can trade it out."

He flipped the book over to read the title: _Fahrenheit 451._ This was the first novel he actually enjoyed. How could she have possibly known he would love it? He glanced at her, finding her reading _I Sing the Body Electric:_ _Short Stories by Ray Bradbury._ She looked up at him and smiled, taking a bite of her food. Noticing how hungry he was himself, he shoved his face into the plate to gobble it down. When he looked up, he saw Lindy staring at him. Seeing this, he wiped his face with his arm. Lindy said nothing but laughed understandingly and went back to her meal.

When the two got up, Adrian followed after her. "Hey, I'm...sorry about lunch. I just - "

"It's okay," she interrupted. "It must be hard to hold silverware with claws."

Adrian blinked, not expecting that reaction. He thought she'd be disgusted with him, or uncomfortable to say the very least. He was startled by how much he was starting to appreciate her.

"How's your back?" she asked.

"What?" he said, and she asked again. "Fine, it's fine. How's your, uh...oh." His gaze trailed down to her forearm. A shot of guilt pierced his gut. "I did that, didn't I?"

She looked at her bandaged arm as if it just appeared on her arm. "Oh! It was an accident. It's okay."

He shook his head. "No it's not. You're right. I could've killed you that night." He hung his head in shame. Lindy also felt guilty, for having disobeying him. She'd made a stupid move and they were both paying the price.

"I..." she started, trying to fix the situation. "I was going to read some sonnets, if you want to join me."

"Um, sure. In fact, there's something I want to show you." She made a confused look but followed Adrian back to the first floor and to a large, glass door. He started to open it, but closed it again. "You'll have to close your eyes first. It's a surprise."

She darted her eyes but obediently closed them. After making sure she was blind, he opened the glass door, took her tiny hands, and guided her inside. He took a few steps back until she was in the very center of the area. He released her hands and stepped away.

"Okay, you can open them now."

Her eyes fluttered open and she drew in a gasp. The smile on her face was enough to tell him that she loved it. Roses from white to red to lavender were perfectly planted in the ground as bushes, overhanging pots, and even climbing up the walls. She giggled like a little girl in a candy store.

"You grew this?" she asked.

He nodded. "Hard being something like me in New York, not being able to go outside. These plants and flowers may seem crazy to other people, but it's gotten me through a lot."

Lindy smiled and bent over a bush with white roses. The white was set off by the green of the bush, as well as the fiery red of Lindy's hair. Could someday those roses be red with romance to match her hair? He shook the thought away and went to stand beside her. She hand two fingers on one stem, carefully smoothing the petals underneath. She glanced at him nervously.

"M-May I?" she asked. He nodded and handed her a clipper. She snipped off the rose and held it to her face. She finally tucked it behind her ear and stood up, her book in hand. They headed down another path of roses, Lindy flipping through her book and began reading:

 _"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?  
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:  
Rough winds so shake the darling buds of May,  
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:  
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,  
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;  
And every fair from fair sometime declines..."_

She looked up to find Adrian staring off somewhere else, his mind miles away. She decided to continue anyway, in case he was listening.

 _"By thy eternal summer shall not fade,  
Not lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;  
Not shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,  
When in eternal lines to time thou...grow'st."_

Adrian stopped in his tracks suddenly, staring at the garden intensely. "It's like seeing it for the first time," he said, Lindy coming to stand beside him. He turned to her. "Is... is there any more?"

She laughed, Adrian smiling. And she continued with the sonnet:

 _"So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,  
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."_

Adrian's gaze turned from his roses to Lindy. Was Lindy giving life to him? She looked up at him, locking eyes. Her gray eyes shone against the light pouring through the windows. He dared to give her slight smile before the two awkwardly looked away from each other. Adrian's face burned hot as he relayed what just happened. The weird thing was; he couldn't! All he could think was: _What the hell is happening to me?_


	9. Chapter 8: Something There

Daniel woke weak and cold. His limbs were stiff and his lips were blue, but he didn't notice. All he could notice was the pain in his head and the pain in his heart. How could things have come to this? His family was gone, Lindy was trapped with a beast, and he was going to die out here. He could feel the needles in his lungs as he breathed shakily.

Something soft and warm woke him from his delirium. A thin girl with chalk-white skin, black/green-streaked hair, and dark clothing was kneeling beside him. She silently linked his arm over her shoulder and led him down the sidewalk and into a nearby building. It was empty, save for some food and a small trashcan with a fire. He limped on her, struggling to fully lay down on the mattress that acted as a bed. She draped a surprisingly thick blanket over him and dragged the fire nearer. She opened a drawer from a forgotten file cabinet and took out a bottle. The girl scooped some snow from outside, warming in over the fire and pouring a tiny amount of liquid in. She leaned back to Daniel.

"Drink," she said, giving him the water. It tasted like cough syrup and castor oil, but it helped. He finally settled on the mattress and fell asleep.

* * *

Lindy was surprised by this new side of Adrian. Ever since the gang attack, he seemed more down-to-earth. Maybe even kind. The light late-night snowfall marked the beginning of October. She hadn't seen real snow in years, but it still made her feel warm to look out her window and watch the snow fall. This would sometimes leave her staying up late at night with a book in her hands. In this weather, she wondered where her father was.

On October 12th, she quietly headed downstairs to make herself some hot chocolate while the snow was falling. It was nearly midnight, but Lindy couldn't sleep. Memories and concerns of her father were keeping her awake, not to mention the guilt for leaving her father to the elements while she was leaving the dream in this Brooklyn brownstone.

She mixed milk, cream, whipped cream, and bittersweet chocolate powder into a thermos, closed it, and started shaking it. After a minute or so, she opened the thermos and poured the contents into a mug. After taking a few sips, she moved to the living room to sit on the couch and look out the window. Snow flurries fell like feathers, turning the black cement streets white. She sighed in relief she hadn't felt in years.

"Lindy?"

She jumped, nearly spilling her cocoa.

"Sorry, sorry!" Adrian said, closing the basement door behind him. "I really need to work on my entrance."

Lindy heaved a sigh of relief, again. "Hi, Adrian. Sorry if I woke you up."

"I was awake anyway," he replied, sitting next to her on the couch. "Why're you up so late?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It was snowing, and I got chocolate, and...I don't know. I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind, I guess."

"Anything you need to talk about?" he asked. She shook her head. "Okay, just making sure. You, uh...wanna read something?"

Lindy glanced at him, turning on a nearby lamp. She giggling and pulled a book from her shirt. She flipped it open and made sure to shush Adrian before he could ask how she kept a book in her shirt.

" _Escape from Camp 14._ It's a memoir of an escapee from one of North Korea's political prisons."

He inched closer to her. "Cool!"

"If you want, I could read it to you in Korean," she said, smirking.

"You know Korean?"

"예, 저는 한국어를 압니다. 주간 텔레비전에서 배울 수있는 것을 보여줍니다."

Adrian blinked, surprised at her fluency. "How do you know - "

"Korean daytime television," Lindy answered. She flipped to the first page. "I'll read to you in English, just to make it easier for you."

Adrian smiled and leaned just an inch closer to look over her shoulder at the page. After about an hour of reading, Lindy stopped to rest her voice and found Adrian dozing on the back of the couch. Feeling drowsy herself, she laid down across the couch, legs tucked underneath her, and nuzzled into one of the pillows before finally falling asleep.

Adrian woke at around five to find Lindy curled up on the couch beside him, her feet barely touching his hip. Her book and now-cold chocolate were left on the coffee table. He put the mug in the kitchen sink and pulled a blanket from the linen closet. After settling and covering her, he smiled at her sleeping form.

 _This girl is amazing! Either that or she's faking it. She wouldn't, though. Right?_ He wanted to believe that she could love him, and that he could love her. They'd come onto a friendly start after a less than friendly meeting. But he wanted to get to know her. He wanted to do something more for her. He gazed out the window. It was still snowing a bit.

* * *

Lindy stepped out of her bathroom after changing into something warm. Adrian had told her to come down to the rose garden for something, even though it was still really warm down there. He met her at the far end of the garden, to a sort of shed that extended to the alley between the rows of houses.

"What the surprise?" she asked. "Other than the library and the rose garden?"

He chuckled. "Well, this one's a bit cooler."

He pushed open the door to reveal a shed full of snow. Lindy gasped happily for the third time. She'd never seen or touched actual snow. How did he know?

"It wasn't easy. I was out every night for a week and a half shoveling snow in from the alleys and streets. None of the slushy stuff. And, there's another surprise in the igloo."

Lindy glanced around. "Igloo?"

Adrian shrugged. "Well, more like a mound of snow that was dug in, but you'll know why. C'mon!"

Lindy was starting to get all surprised-out. She'd been given a library, a shared rose garden, and a backyard shed full of snow. What else did he get her? He knelt down beside the "igloo", a small hole in the side of it. Lindy did the same out of confusion. He dug through his pocket until he pulled out a Milk Bone dog treat and handed it to her.

"Why did you give me a..." Barking suddenly rang out and Lind was knocked into the snow headfirst. Laughing, she took the small animal in her hands and let it have the treat. "You bought me a freakin' puppy?!"

"Will's idea, actually. He said that it'd be great for a service dog, so - whatever you do - just say the dog is his!" Adrian's expression was one of complete seriousness, so Lindy nodded. She held the little Lab puppy to her chest, putting him in her coat. He was shivering, but he craned his little head up to lick her chin. She giggled.

"So, what're you gonna call him?"

"Pilot," she said after some thinking. "My mom always wanted to be a pilot."

"You never talk about your mom," Adrian noted. Lindy abruptly looked up at him, silently begging him not to touch on that subject. He caught the pleading look and quickly stood up when the dog noticed him and started barking again.

"No more surprises, okay? My face hurts from gasping," Lindy explained, rubbing her cheeks. Adrian nodded and gave her an 'okay' before leaving for the shed door. His paw was on the knob when something launched at his head, followed by Lindy giggling. He looked at her in shock, making her laugh even more. He shoveled as much snow as he could lift into a ball and threw it at her, sending her to the ground. He chuckled, then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Lindy sputtered out the snow in her mouth and caught a glimpse of Adrian doubled over. Pilot barked as he jumped from her coat, hopping over to Adrian.

"I'm sorry!" he said. "I can't stop now!"

Was Adrian...laughing? This had to be the first time she'd ever seen him laugh. It was amusingly contagious, especially with Pilot barking at him madly. She scooped up Pilot and caught her breath from her own laughing when she finally came up behind him with another snowball. This actually stopped him from laughing, but he gave her a playful grin. She ran to the other side of the igloo as he scooped another huge snowball into his arms. Lindy, being prepared this time, fired another snowball to his face. He fell to the floor, dropping his own weapon on himself. She laughed.

He shook the snow from his eyes, but he was ready for war. He leapt to his feet, chasing after her. She dove behind the igloo. He followed, but saw that she'd disappeared. He rounded the igloo again and still no sign of her. He dared to look up just as a bucket of snow was dumped on his head.

"That's it!" he growled mischievously. He grabbed her wrists and yanked her down from the igloo, destroying it. Pilot was barking like crazy as the two shook the powder from their eyes and realized where they were. Adrian was on top of Lindy, chest to chest with his paws on her shoulders. Her face had turned a strawberry red.

"Uh...Adrian?"

He quickly jumped away from her. "It was an accident, I swear!"

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to destroy the igloo," she replied, scooping the puppy in her arms.

Adrian glanced back at the pile of snow that was once the 'igloo' and then back at her. "Yeah... _that_ was an accident too."

Lindy blinked once before standing back up awkwardly. The two stood in the snow getting colder for about five minutes before Lindy decided it was time to go back inside. After leaving their wet clothes in the laundry room, Lindy put Pilot in her room for Mrs. Ruan to look after while she and Adrian went to have dinner. Lindy shivered at her end of the table, knowing some soup would warm her. She glanced up at Adrian, who was staring nervously as if it would explode.

"Adrian?" He looked up. "Would you like to sit down here with me?"

Instead of answering her, he slowly stood up with his dish and journeyed over to her side of the table, taking a seat next to her. He leaned down but stopped, perhaps reminding himself that eating like a dog was not the best thing to do so close to a lady. Lindy didn't want him to go through the trouble of trying to figure out a spoon. She took the bowl in both hands and sipped from its edge. She lowered it to find Adrian following her lead. Lindy continued to sip from her bowl until it was empty. She giggled, setting her bowl down on the table.

* * *

Lindy climbed up the next ladder, choosing a few more books from the shelf.

"How many more...are you going to pick before we can sort these?" Adrian strained as he carried his own larger stack to the nearby table. "I'd think 26 is enough to start with."

Lindy chuckled, setting her last four books on top of his stack. He finally gave up and dropped the books onto the table, a loud thud rattling the walls. Lindy caught one as it slipped from the top and aimed for Adrian's head. She handed it to him. "Let's start with the 30 on the table, beginning with this one."

He glanced at the cover, letting her see. She nodded and set it off to the side. He handed her another one, going on down the line.

"Yes. Later. Maybe. Oh, definitely! Yep, yep, yep. Nah. Later. Hell no!"

"What's wrong with it?"

She held it up to him. "Seriously? _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_?"

"So? It's a decent parody novel," he argued.

"It takes a classic novel from the glory days of the 19th century and twists it into a zombie movie. I know it's supposed to empower women, but training the Bennet girls to wield swords and weapons in tattered clothes is not what I consider funny."

Adrian glanced away in thought, grimaced, then shook his head. "Fine. We don't have to read it."

She tossed the book to the far end of the table, the zombified depiction of Marcia Fox drawing disgusting marks on Lindy and Adrian's vision. Lindy turned to ignore it, Adrian staring at the cover for more than five minutes. Lindy took the first pile in her arms.

"You ready?" she asked. "Adrian? You okay?"

He shook his head to look at her then nodded, taking half the pile to lift the load a bit. She journeyed to her favorite chair and set the books on the rug, choosing the real _Pride and Prejudice._ Adrian sprawled on the rug with _Crime and Punishment._ Lindy was distracted though. The mentioning of zombies got her thinking. Halloween was never really celebrated after she was eight years old, but she had fun crashing some parties for some snacks. (Could you blame her? She was starving). She set her book aside, staring off into space.

"You okay?" She glanced at Adrian, who was flashing her a look of concern.

She nodded quickly. "Yeah! Yeah, just thinking." This wasn't false, but she didn't want Adrian worrying. She'd just won his friendship. She didn't know if he'd revert back to his brooding, sadistic self if he had the slightest inkling of her thinking of the outside world. She'd already given him loads of chances and - true, he was no Alex Pettyfer - well, there was just something she never took notice to before. And, she liked it.


	10. Chapter 9: Talking

**I didn't want this to feel too short, so I'm adding more conversations between Adrian and Lindy just to fill the gap. I know everybody wants that. Also, if you see any of the references I put in from the book, the 2011 movie, and the 1991 Disney movie, I implore you to let me know and tell me what you think.**

 **And, without any further delay, here is Chapter 9.**

* * *

Lindy sat on her bay window, watching the people go by. It was around 5:00 when everyone was coming home from work. Lindy took a glance at the wall adjacent her window. Her makeshift rope was gone. She had to pull it back up and disassemble it to avoid suspicion. She wondered what would have happened if she'd escaped that first night. It probably would have had the same outcome, except she would be dead in an alley.

She absentmindedly ran her hand over her forearm, the bandage and stitches finally removed. It would leave a scar, but nothing too significant. She didn't want to blame Adrian. She wanted to believe it was an accident, thinking if she believed it hard enough she'd be convinced. She couldn't blame Adrian. He was such a good friend to her now that they'd become acquainted. But, she had missed Halloween. The brownstone houses were still decorated with pumpkins and paper bats and rubber spiders. She'd watched Magda put up decorative skulls about the house for Dias de los Muertas. It settled for Halloween enough for the goblins and ghouls on the streets to pick up candy from the bowl on the doorstep.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She yelled that the door was open, and Adrian poked his head in. Lindy put on her most convincing smile.

"Hey, Lindy. C-Can I come in?" he stammered. Lindy nodded and waved him towards her. He stepped inside, leaving the door open. She yanked the curtain back halfway so he could sit beside her while still being hidden. "Thanks."

"Hey, don't mention it." Lindy didn't take her eyes off the street even though Adrian was clearly staring at her.

"I know you miss going outside," he said, shattering the silence.

"What?! No! No, no. I - "

"You don't have to lie," he assured her. "I get the same feeling. It must be nice being able to walk around and not have people stare at you."

Lindy sighed. "Yeah, that would be nice."

"N-No, I was talking about you."

"I know," she said. She chuckled at Adrian's confused face. "You don't have to look different to get some stares. All it takes is a book next to a weird contraption and you're the talk of the neighborhood." Another confused look. "Well, you see, when you live in a place where everything is breaking, it helps if you know how to fix things. But I make one innovative way to dry laundry and I get my ass kicked."

"What?!"

"Verbally," she finished.

"I didn't know you could invent stuff."

She shrugged. "My dad used to have a woodshop, back when he was still... I used to help him with my sisters."

"So, those girls he mentioned; Sara and Angela. They're your sisters?" Lindy was surprised that he was even listening to their conversation that day, but nonetheless her sisters were never an easy topic to talk about.

"They...were my older sisters. We don't talk to each other anymore. They used to pick on me for skipping a grade and going straight to high school at 13 years old."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Sixteen. I was about to start my senior year. How old are you?"

"Sixteen, same as you." She shouldn't have been surprised, but he sounded and looked older than that. She guessed at least 18 years old, but no. She remembered Magda's comment on his parents. How could his father just leave him here? The room went stilly silent. "Why do you care about him so much?"

Lindy snapped her head up, Adrian's face in the curtain. "W-What?"

"Your dad. Why do you stay with him?"

Lindy sighed sadly. "He's sick. He's really a great dad and he loves me. He just doesn't know how to cope in a healthy way. He lost it when my mom died. I was only six, so I didn't understand. I didn't understand where my mom had gone or why he and my sisters were freaking out. Then, we packed what we could and moved. I don't even remember why. He started using. Prescription stuff, then illegal junk. He used all his money to pay off his debts. My sisters...they never forgave him. They left as soon as they graduated high school. I was left alone with him and I dove into my education. I was able to skip a grade, get a scholarship. That's when I started going to this prep school in Manhattan."

He stared at her intently, pressing her to continue. She didn't want to. She wanted to stop. She pulled a pillow from behind her and hugged it to her chest. She silently pleaded for him to let her stop. He leaned back against the wall, letting Lindy get some air.

"I worry about him," Lindy said finally. "He may have disappointed me a thousand times over, but he's still the only family I have."

* * *

Weeks went by. Lindy had amused herself with books and roses and Pilot, but her main focus was Adrian. Something changed after he'd saved her life. Maybe it was the cliché falling for the guy who saves the girl, but she did notice quite a change in both of them. She could see the kindness in his eyes when he looked at her, hear the intelligence in his voice whenever they debated about books, and feel the pride he had in his home.

She'd brought up the courage to persuade him into cleaning the house with everyone else. He took to his room while Lindy accompanied Lucena to the attic. She hadn't been up there since she took her father's place. Now she was starting to look at it and it wasn't as creepy as she remembered. In fact, it was more of a forgotten living area than an attic. She passed the broken door she'd stayed in and journeyed to the end of the hall, shorter than she remembered. She opened the double doors and gasped in awe. It was a huge open room, clearly meant as another suite or a master bedroom. It was dusty beyond belief, but was otherwise in good condition. Lucena was already inside, sweeping and mopping the dusty floors.

Lindy turned back into the hallway and took to the next room. It was much more cluttered, a closet perhaps. She groped around for a light before she eventually found a cord to a lightbulb. It was still dark, but it was enough to look around. Boxes and newspapers were shoved into every corner, blocking what seemed to be a window. Curiosity overtook her and she began rummaging through what she could.

Old records, knickknacks, furniture, and books were all packed away and out of sight. Did Adrian put them up here or someone else who lived there before? She closed the seventh box and moved on to another. It was smaller and wider. She opened the lid. Yellow packing paper that crumbled when she peeled it back revealed a beautiful green vintage dress. It seemed like something out of a movie, silk garment with a thin, silver bodice and beads at the hem. A few beads were hanging, but she knew Mrs. Ruan would patch it up.

Lindy really wasn't one to wear fancy dresses, but this one was gorgeous.

* * *

Adrian yanked another weed from a rose bed, throwing it into the pile. Now that Lindy was in the house with him, he took considerate measures on making sure the garden and library were nice and neat. Funny, how much he was beginning to care about her. She wasn't like any other girl he'd ever met. Not so strikingly beautiful but she couldn't be bought with shiny toys or money or a big house. She wanted the things that he'd obviously taken for granted; books and roses and snowball fights. She brought out something in him that he couldn't find for himself.

"Lindy..." He smiled as her name escaped him. It sounded so good, saying it out loud. She looked at him and didn't cringe. She touched him and didn't flinch. There was either something very wrong with her or something incredibly virtuous inside her. Maybe...

He shook his head. This chance wasn't hopeful enough. Yes, he'd earned her trust. Yes, he'd earned her friendship. There was no way he could earn her love. He dropped what he had and marched to his room. He'd done as she asked and tidied it up as much as he could. He moved slowly towards the two roses. The living one was quickly wilting, its white petals drooping and turning brown on the ends. It was dying, just like him.

He looked up from the image, hearing the sounds of laughing and fun from the staff. He held up the mirror.

"Show me Lindy."

He barely noticed how he looked before Lindy finally appeared. She was sitting at a piano with Felix, supposedly teaching him. She was decent, him less. They were both smiling despite the awkward notes that sort of had meaning. The sight spread a small smile across his own face. She was amazing, more powerful than any witch to curse him. If he could think that, then maybe this curse would be broken. Lindy could learn to love him somehow. Adrian was already starting to feel something. He didn't know what it was, but it was something.

"I'll take care of you, Lindy. I promise."


	11. Chapter 10: New York of my Childhood

Lindy looked up from her book. The sun was starting to set over the December night. Christmas Eve. Everyone was home for the holidays and wrapped warmly in what they had, family and friends gathered around them. Lindy scratched Pilot's ears, his head leaning back into her stomach as he laid across her lap. With her books and Pilot on her lap, she felt normal. She laughed inside, knowing how ridiculous it sounded. Feeling normal and happy in a place meant to be a prison. As much as she wanted to deny it, she enjoyed Adrian's company. She was here for a reason, but she never pressed on it. Adrian was sensitive, and she didn't want to upset him any more than he needed to be.

He was an amazing friend. But she didn't know if he saw her that way. He _liked_ her, she knew. She knew from how he looked at her, how happy he was when she was in the room, how he'd say things about her that no one had ever said. He _liked_ her, but something told her that he didn't quite know it yet. She had fought the urge to like him for so long, but now that she's seen him work his magic, how could she feel anything but _like_ him back?

Her freedom.

She wasn't free. Keeping her here in a house for months, it wasn't moral. Perhaps she was wrong and he did only see her as a friend. Maybe that was the case. But, if it were, why would he go through so much trouble to make her feel comfortable, relaxed, happy? It made no sense to her. But, then again, nothing in this house made sense.

She set down _A Midsummer's Night Dream_ and took to the door in intent on finding Adrian, Pilot padding behind her. She trekked down the stairs, catching Lucena.

"Do you know where Adrian is?" she asked. Lucena motioned with her hands. Was it possible her hearing had gotten worse? Was that possible? She signed the same sentence in manual alphabet. She handed Lindy a rose, and Lindy nodded in response.

Lucena signed, _Be back at eight. Mama is making dinner._

Lindy journeyed down the stairs, Pilot still at her tail. She strolled down the hall to the garden, finding Adrian reading by a bed of pink roses.

"What're you reading?" she asked.

He jumped, fumbling with the book before he hid in behind him. "Nothing!"

Lindy smirked, noticing the title. _"Notre-Dame de Paris._ "

"Actually," he corrected. "It's _The Hunchback of Notre Dame._ Gypsies, and swordfights, and executions..."

Lindy sat down beside him. "It's still a romance."

"Oh, fine!" he said. "You win."

Lindy smiled. Despite all the times they'd hung out, this one seemed different. Maybe it was the lighting, or the roses, or the admission of Adrian's change. She didn't know, but she had to say something she had been longing to say. "I never got to thank you for saving my life."

"Well, I never thanked _you_ for not leaving me to be eaten by rats." He responded without hesitation, as if he'd been dying to say it as much as she was. She laughed at the comment. The air suddenly felt warmer. True, they were in a greenhouse. But with roses in the air, the two sitting closer than they'd ever gathered the courage to, and the lights slowly dimming, their eyes remained locked. Neither said a word for a long while.

The moment was interrupted when Pilot started licking Lindy's face. She pushed at him to go away.

"Does my face taste good to you? Do I smell like peanut butter?"

Adrian chuckled. "All the beasts seem to be drawn to you."

She stiffened at 'beast'. He was talking about himself. She knew how he felt about himself, but it wasn't what she felt.

"You know I don't see you as a beast, right?" Lindy said, peering over her shoulder to look at him. She ruffled Pilot's scruff to keep him occupied.

"Everyone sees me that way," he replied.

Lindy shook her head. "They don't. They know how to have a great time."

Adrian nodded. "Sometimes I hear them laughing and I pretend I'm eating dinner with them."

"You should! I'm sure they'd love that," Lindy beamed.

He shook his head. "Every time I enter a room, that laughing dies. Until you came, nobody really wanted to be around me."

Lindy began reflecting. "Yeah. I know how that feels." He glanced at her confusedly, knitting what seemed to be eyebrows. "I told you I was different. My classmates and neighbors called me weird and homely and stuff like that. I'm not really used to hearing compliments from other people my age." Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She never admitted it to anyone. She'd tried to not let it bother her, but deep down she knew it hurt her.

"I'm sorry," he said, his tone genuine. "Your school sounds horrible."

"Almost as lonely as this house," she added.

He nodded again, taking no offense to her comments. He knew this place was lonely. He'd spent the past year and a half in his room with no one to talk to. He remembered when he had the confidence to think he wasn't. But, trapped in this body, the walls around him seemed closer to him. Every day, he'd find that Will could see less and less of his own body and Felix was a full two inches shorter. There were times when he just wanted to get away from it all.

"Hey, let's run away!" he suggested.

"Okay, what?"

* * *

Lindy was pleased with Adrian's progress in his room, but that didn't explain what he was doing or why he said what he did. He finally crawled out from under the bed with a large thin book in his hand. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the cover, opening it for her to see.

"What is it?" Lindy asked.

"A book that can really let you escape," he explained. "I've tried it, but I couldn't be too careful after what happened last year."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You're saying that this book is like a teleporter? Like beaming or astral projection?"

He chuckled. "Sorta. It sounds impossible, but I swear. It's real. I've tried using it, but the outside world has no place for me. It won't work for any of us. But, it will work for you."

Lindy wasn't sure of this, but he took her hand and pressed it to the pages.

"Think of the one place you've always wanted to see," he instructed. "Now find it in your mind and feel it in your heart."

Lindy was just going along for imagination, trying to go along with it. The one place she's always wanted to see? She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and thought of home. A rush of cold wind hit Lindy in the face, her hair flying back. She wanted to rip her hand from the book, but Adrian was holding it so tightly. She held her eyes closed against the wind until it finally died down. It was now dark, a musty smell of dust and ink looming in the air. She opened her eyes and couldn't believe it.

Adrian was also looking around the room, very bewildered by her first choice. "Where'd you take us?"

"Greenwich Village. Lower Manhattan," she answered, gazing around the apartment. It hadn't changed at all. Dustier and worn down, but still looking as if her mother would walk in from work and her sisters would make her lunch.

Adrian was over by the window, surveying the cars and city skyline. He was actually ecstatic as if he'd forgotten.

"Oh man, I love Manhattan. What do you want to see first? Time Square? Battery Park? The Statue of Liberty? No? You're right. Way too touristy. Maybe we could find an art show. Does that sound good?" Lindy didn't answer. She was staring at the walls, fingering the furniture and scanning the rooms. "Lindy? You okay?"

"It's so much smaller than I remember," she whispered. She picked up a coated picture frame and wiped it with her shirt. Three little girls, two with black hair and one with red hair. She'd hoped that she'd see her childhood home as it was, not in its current state. She held the picture frame to her as she rushed to the opposite end of the apartment, opening the door to reveal a pink bedroom with bunk beds and a smaller bed with a rose pattern. Clearly, no one had bothered with the place since everyone had left. Adrian came in after her.

"This building is set to be demolished," he said. "Why'd you bring us here?"

"This is my home," she mumbled, holding the picture to her chest. Her chest felt heavy at the forgotten items on the walls and floor. The wood was old, but she could still make out the letters of her name on the bed, her sisters' names carved onto their own beds. She thought if she closed her eyes and thought hard enough, she'd hear her mother walk into the apartment with groceries, her father coming out to greet her. But Lindy was still met with a broken room.

"What happened to your mom?" he asked, knowing this was why she came here.

She shook her head. "I don't know. All I remember is waking up to my father yelling, my sisters crying, a bunch of sirens, and my sister Sara carrying me out of the house after 10 minutes. I tried asking what had happened, but everyone was freaking out. I knew better than to ask from then on."

Adrian gazed around the sad little room, stepping over dolls and clothes to make his way to the other side of the room. An old, dusted calendar was hanging on the closet door, which was wide open. Adrian scrubbed the dust off, his expression paining. He read the latest date.

"2001, September 11." Lindy slowly looked up at him as he grimly gave her the reality of it. "World Trade Center."

 _(Flashback 10 years)_

 _People on the streets were screaming, running and getting in their cars. Angela had the TV on, frantically calling to her father. Daniel came rushing in, watching in horror as black smoke poured from the North Tower. Sara rushed into the room, still in her pajamas. Daniel was too late to cover their eyes as a second plane shot through the South Tower. Sirens from the streets rang into the kitchen door. The radio suddenly came on:_

 _"...another plane has just hit the South Tower. Police are being called to the scene..."_

 _Sara ran into her room, taking little Lindy out of her bed._

 _"...Authorities suggest this to be the work of terrorists. Civilians in the Lower Manhattan area are requested to evacuate the area as soon as possible!"_

 _Lindy was crying, screaming. She didn't understand. "I want my mom! I want my mommy!"_

 _(Present Day)_

Lindy couldn't stop the tears now. She was sobbing hysterically on her old bed. Her mother had died so horribly. She'd always questioned herself whether or not to look for answers. She'd blamed her father for taking her away from her home when he was really protecting her and her sisters. Despite all the mistakes he'd made, he risked everything for his daughters. She hugged the picture to her chest, knowing this would be the last time she'd ever see her childhood home.

Adrian could only look at her helplessly. Seeing her go through such intense pain, even after all these years, it reminded him of his own. Her father had sacrificed so much for her, something his own father never did for him, all to protect her. He approached her slowly, not sure what to do exactly. He finally took a seat beside her on the bed, taking one of her shaking hands.

"I'm sorry for what I did to your father," he said. "Really, I am."

She looked up at him, her eyes shining and wet. He put his paw up to her face, wiping her cheek.

"Let's go home," she whimpered.

* * *

Lindy didn't come down to dinner that night. Adrian was left at the table alone late that night, contemplating over what she was possibly going through. He hadn't meant to cause her pain. It tore him to watch her cry. He stood up and took her plate with him, marching up the stairs after heating it back up. He shuffled to Lindy's door and knocked.

"Lindy?" He knocked again. "Can I come in?"

The door swung open ajar, giving him permission to enter. The lights were out save for the fire in the hearth. Lindy was curled up on the couch, hugging her shoulders.

"I brought you dinner," he said.

"Not hungry," she mumbled. He set the food on the coffee table.

"You holding up okay?" he asked. She shook her head. That was understandable. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" After a pause, she shook her head again, violently. Adrian rushed to her as she began breaking down into tears. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay." She threw herself into his chest, making him gasp. She'd never touched him this way, but she pulled him closer. He hesitantly settled his arms around her, holding her close.

 _This is nice,_ he thought. _This is really nice._

His heart was pounding on the wall of his chest as she nestled into his lap, releasing every emotion she felt. He sat still for a moment before screwing the courage to run his fingers through her thick red hair. She was done crying, taking some deep breaths while Adrian stroked her hair. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. She was so gorgeous in the dim light, her red hair shining gold in the fire's light. Every golden freckle on her face was pronounced individually on her skin. Everything about her screamed something different. She was very different, a kind of different that he desperately wanted.

"Lindy," he started. "Lindy, I think I..." He trailed off. She had fallen asleep on his lap. He sighed, knowing it would never work. But going through such a remarkable experience with her, how could he feel anything else?

"Goodnight, Lindy," he whispered before carefully picking her up and setting her in bed. He wanted to say something he longed to say to her, but even while she slept he couldn't be sure. The phrase was stuck in his throat. He closed his eyes and whispered,

"Goodnight, 내 사랑."


	12. Chapter 11: Complicated Feelings

Adrian didn't get much sleep that night, or the night after. He was restless, unable to stop thinking. Thinking about her; Lindy. He remembered when he held her hand, hugged her, screwed the courage to run his fingers through her fiery hair. Softer than silk. He ached to hold her again, to gaze into her eyes, to count every tiny freckle on her face. She wasn't pretty by modern standards, but to him she was a goddess.

She had told him that she was different. He was different too. Maybe that's why they came so close together; she saw the world just a little bit differently. If that were the case, he was glad she had that ability. She didn't care what he looked like. Not when he comforted her at Christmas, or read to her in the library, or even when they'd first met. He shook his head as he stared at the ceiling in his bed. Lindy had to be a sorceress, or maybe even an angel.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Adrian," he whispered to himself. "But Lindy..."

Never a rest. His heart was tormenting him with these visions of her. He desperately wanted to hold onto the idea of her falling in love with him, but there was still the voice in the back of his mind reminding him: he was cursed. Cursed to be a monster, an unholy, unlovable beast. Lindy would never let herself fall for something like him. But, then again, she hugged him and snuggled up to him. She let him touch her. She was willing to be around him and smile and look happy. Maybe she was!

"Lindy," he repeated her name a few times.

He pulled the covers closer to his body, trying to sleep. He closed his eyes, thinking of her delicate frame. Thirty minutes later, he sat up in bed soaking wet with the sheets tangled around his legs. He inadvertently began imagining being tangled around her. He tried again, but woke up in the same manner. He finally laid back, staring at the ceiling with his heart racing.

* * *

The door to his room creaked open on the third night. He was awake, not sleeping in days. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt her in his arms. It was maddening to think about. It was too early to wake up the staff, so he sat up to find Lindy in the doorway. She was wrapped in a thin blanket, shivering. He leapt from the bed and raced to her.

"Lindy, is everything okay?" he asked, taking her hand.

She nodded, pulling the blanket closer. "Yeah, no. I just..." she stammered, her cheeks turning a soft pink. "I just couldn't sleep. It was so cold in my room. I'm sorry if I woke you." She turned to leave the room. "I'll leave you alone if you want."

"I was awake anyway," he blurted out, gripping her hand. "I, uh...I was just catching up on some Stephen King stuff, if you wanted to join me."

Lindy stared at him, thinking of an answer. Adrian was fixed with her. It looked as if she was glowing, but that was probably due to lack of sleep. He had to blink a few times to see her normally.

"Um...why don't you let me do the reading?" she suggested, dropping his hand and making her way to his bed.

"I can read," he insisted.

"When's the last time you actually slept?" she asked. Apparently, she'd noticed his insomnia. He finally relented and sat across the bed with her. She picked up _Carrie_ and turned to the marked page. As she read, Adrian grabbed the extra blanket at the end of the bed and wrapped it over her already covered body, seeing as how thin her blanket was. He wanted her to lay across the bed with him, nestle into his chest so he could have her warmth against him. He inched away from her, though. He couldn't ask her to lay with him. It would look too intimate.

He gazed at her, marveling at her voice. He had to remind himself that it was early and he was not awake. He had to resist the urge to hold her close to him as he was falling asleep. Maybe he was asleep. Perhaps this was all just a dream. Maybe Lindy had left him to die in the streets and now he was dead, these months just being some sort of hellish paradise. Or, maybe blissful Hell. Either way, he was happy with this. Just him and Lindy having small moments together without a care in the world.

* * *

Adrian woke to find Lindy gone and it was almost noon. Had their encounter last night been a dream? He got dressed and marched upstairs to seek her out. He ran into the kitchen to grab something to eat first, but was met with Maurizio.

"Hey, Maurizio, have you seen - Whoa!"

Maurizio looked over what was left of his shoulder, sliding the dish gently into the sink. His entire right arm and shoulder were gone, his left hand now a wrist with a thumb.

"Yes, Master Adrian?" he asked.

"Are you doing okay? You look awful."

Maurizio held up his wrist. "Oh, this? Do not worry about it, Master Adrian."

"Don't patronize me, man. I have to worry about this! I can't live the life I do without you guys." He'd never admitted this to any of the staff, but he was realizing this now. The second rose had only a few clinging petals left, and time was running out for all of them. "Have you seen Lindy?"

"Library," Maurizio said simply.

Adrian nodded and ran up the stairs to the third floor. Inside Lindy's room, he could hear the faint snoring of Mrs. Ruan, the narcoleptic, former singer that was now a seamstress to Lindy. Will was inside her room as well, trying to train Pilot as a guide dog. Adrian shook his head a little, but reminded himself that Will had asked for Pilot as much more than a guide dog. He entered the library but found that Lindy was not there. Lucena was restocking the shelves with finished books.

"Lucena!" She didn't turn to look at him. Then he remembered. He tapped her on the shoulder. Grabbing a pencil and some padded paper, he wrote

" _Have you seen Lindy?"_

She nodded, pointed up, and held up five fingers.

"Fifth floor, got it!" he said, turning back into the hallway. It wasn't long ago that Lucena could hear enough to speak. Now, she was almost completely deaf. He trekked up another flight of stairs, pausing at the fourth floor. Magda's hair was now white, her skin showing visible wrinkles. Felix was on her lap while she read a children's book to him. He looked like a two-year-old. The beautiful Asian music that once floated down the hall was jutted and halted, followed by gasps and grunts of pain. Adrian forced himself up the last flight of stairs.

The fifth floor was just as abandoned-looking as when he'd first met Lindy. Although the broken door was now fixed and the contents inside the rooms were organized. It looked more lived in. This was further evidenced by Lindy's voice from behind the door at the end of the hall. He lightly pushed the door forward, giving him enough to see Lindy pacing in the large room. It was huge, now shining in the late morning light. It looked spacious enough to be a ballroom. His eyes turned to Lindy, the sonnet she read not lost on him:

" _Let me confess that we two must be twain,  
_ _Although our undivided loves are one:_  
 _So shall those blots that do with me remain,_  
 _Without thy help, by me be borne alone._  
 _In our two loves there is but one respect,_  
 _Though in our lives a separable spite,_  
 _Which though it alter not love's sole effect,_  
 _Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love's delight._  
 _I may not evermore acknowledge thee,_  
 _Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame,_  
 _Nor thou with public kindness honour me,_  
 _Unless thou take that honour from thy name:_  
 _But do not so, I love thee in such sort,_  
 _As thou being mine, mine is thy good report."_

Music. Beautiful music. Times like this, he thought he could forget about his problems. But seeing the staff, his friends, in their current state, he needed to focus. He was doing this for everyone now, not just himself. He needed to take that initiative. With his heart in his throat, he pushed the door further and entered the room. Lindy's back was towards him. He tried to look as if he'd just happened to stumble across the room instead of listening in on her reading.

She turned and jumped. "God, Adrian! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry! I...I was just looking for you. This place looks great!"

She gazed at the scene around her and nodded. "Yeah, Lucena did a great job."

"Yeah," he said, regretting to himself that Lucena would never be able to hear that. "Might as well have a dance here."

"Okay."

Adrian blinked. "Wait, what?"

"We could have a dance. It's almost New Year's Eve. What better way to welcome 2012? Unless, you were just joking."

"NO! No, no, no!" he said quickly. "Let's have a dance. Dance...here. Dance with you. Dance with ME! It'll be awesome."

Lindy giggled. "Okay, wiseguy. Just try not to step on my feet and I won't step on yours."

"Great!" he shouted, slowly backing towards the door. "Sorry, I yelled. It'll be awesome! New Year's! Dancing! With you! I love dancing, and I love yooooooouuu...r company. So I'd be a crazy hypocrite if I didn't love your company as my dance partner."

 _What are you doing?!_ he shouted to himself. _Stop talking, you fool!_

Lindy giggled again as he fell back through the doorway and slammed it shut, going back to her reading. Adrian was gasping as if he'd ran a marathon.

"What the hell was that?!" he scolded himself. "What did you just do?! Out of all the things you could have said. A dance?! You haven't been to one of those in forever! You could have said something like library or garden or even hanging out in each other's rooms! Anything would've been better than joking about a dance and acting like a total goober!" He moaned. "What the hell have I done?!"


	13. Chapter 12: Getting Ready

Victor tried to tune out Marcelo on their night out downtown. They'd just caught up with the old gang, and they told him Juan Paulo was dead. And that Daniel had killed him. Victor's blood boiled with rage, but with a greater satisfaction in Daniel's death. If only he could get Marcelo to shut up.

"There's also the chance of being eaten by roaches and mice, his sorry insides left to the maggots. If starvation, hypothermia, and utter lack of water hadn't gotten to him - "

"Shut your trap! You want the cops calling?" Victor pulled his scarf closer around his face as he trekked the streets of Brooklyn. "I got it taken care of. You say nothing about this, and it's done. Gone! Out the window!" He turned to enter _Floyd_ , a popular bar, Marcelo following him in.

"All I'm sayin is that I'm not the one strapped to a pipe, begging for God's forgiveness. If Daniel is anywhere right now, I'd never - " He ran into Victor as he was locked, stopped dead in his track. Marcelo glanced over Victor's shoulder to find Daniel, well-kempt and looking better than usual. "...expect him to be right in front of us."

Daniel glowered at Victor, waiting for him to say something. The dozens of other patrons, some even high school and college students, were also staring questioningly at the two. Victor put on a smile and strolled over to the old man.

"Daniel, long time no see! I've been looking for ya for weeks! Where've ya been?"

"Victor Cerdo, have you tried to kill this man?" Elias, a high school student, asked in broken English.

Victor pretended to look confused. "What? Last I heard of Danny, he ran off to mooch off some old friends. He's been a little...not alright upstairs."

Daniel crossed his arms over his thin chest. "My mind is fine. You tried to murder me! You left me tied to a post!"

Victor gasped deeply, putting his hand to his chest as though Daniel's words had hurt him. Daniel turned to the bar patrons for reassurance. Most, if not all, gave him supportive looks. Daniel turned back to Victor in rage.

"If it were up to you, you'd hand me over to your old gang near that beast's house!"

There it was.

Victor chuckled. "Riiight. The beast in a castle with a beautiful rose garden that none of us have ever seen." Victor shook his head. "I expected more, Danny. It's one thing to rave about your hallucinations. It's another to accuse me of attempted murder."

Victor's chest was to Daniel's, the young man towering a full ten inches above the older man.

"It's the truth! You may not believe a beast, but believe he tried to kill me!"

"Daniel," Elias said. "You have proof?"

"Ask Kendra," Daniel replied, pointing at the goth girl in the corner. "She rescued me."

Kendra glanced at the crowd nonchalantly as everyone stared at her. Victor laughed hysterically, Kendra moving her eyes slowly to him as she drank a tequila.

"You're leaving your case on the word of a trashy little slut? No offense, Kendra."

She scoffed and went to walk into the bathroom. Realizing that wasn't the best move, Daniel turned to Marcelo.

"Marcelo, you were there. He saw it all!"

The young bartender's face turned to a look of dread as all eyes turned to him. Victor stepped up to his friend and clamped him on the shoulder. "Yes, please don't take my word for it. Marc, old pal. You would never tell a lie, right? An honest man if I ever saw one. So, tell me, old friend. Did we find any beasts or brownstone mansions on our search?"

Marcelo shook his head.

"And, did I, the richest and most powerful man on the streets of Brooklyn and your closest friend, attempt murder on the father of the love of my life?"

Marcelo actually hesitated on this. His story had a number of holes in it, but he was confused on who the love of his life was. Not that Lindy girl! But Daniel was Lindy Owens's father.

"Well, murder is a strong word - " A painful squeeze to his shoulder cut him off. "But no!"

Victor nodded solemnly. "I see. Thank you." He turned back to Daniel. "But, um, speaking of murder...have you heard the news, Daniel?"

Daniel knotted his eyebrows. "What news?"

Victor shrugged, circling around the old man. "Nothing too significant. It's just that, I was meeting with some family for the holidays. And I noticed one person was conspicuously absent." The air in the bar turned heavy, all eyes on Daniel. "I haven't heard from Juan Paulo in months. My family said he was shot down. But, my cousin happened to take in the gun as evidence and found some fingerprints. Old fingerprints. Dirty, old fingerprints."

Daniel had begun to sweat, but his face turning white with fear. He'd completely forgotten about Juan Paulo. He didn't mean anything, he was trying to defend himself.

"It was an accident," Daniel exclaimed. "I was trying to defend myself. I-I...I didn't want to kill him!"

The bar erupted in murmuring and whispers. Victor stared at Daniel with an icy look as he slowly approached the old man.

"Dan, it really pains me to say this, but you've become a danger to society." Daniel shook his head. "I hate to do this, but I think I'll wait for what the police have to say."

* * *

Adrian ran his claws through his hair, letting the water run down his body. It was bad enough that he was doing this dance (or - to be honest - more of a date) with Lindy, but that his entire staff had decided to join him in his room and stand outside the shower.

"I saw her upstairs, and it looked great. So I said 'Lucena did a great job. Might as well have a dance.' I didn't actually think she would say yes!" he moaned. "I blew it! What was I thinking?!"

"No, Adrian," Magda argued. "This is the night!"

"Yes!" Maurizio agreed. "This is perfect. The rose has only four petals left which means tonight...You can tell her how you feel!"

He leaned out of the shower, his fur dripping with water. He knew they were trying to help. He _knew_ that time was running out. He _knew_ tonight was important for everyone. He _KNEW_ that Lindy was his only chance - their only chance. He reached to grab a towel.

"You wanna know how I feel? I feel like a DOPE!" He wrapped the towel around his waist, stepping out of the shower. "She'll never love me." He leaned over the sink to shake his hair dry, water splashing onto Maurizio.

"Do not be discouraged, Master Adrian. She is The One!"

Adrian groaned. "I wish you would stop saying that!" He snapped his head up to meet his eyes. "Look at me. She deserves so much more than...than... ** _THIS!_** " He turned away from his reflection in the mirror to sit on a chair in his room. "There's no _one._ Okay?" He smoothed back the puffed out fur on his head and shoulders. He suddenly felt himself turn around and slide into a vanity that was never there before. The entire staff was around him, staring back at him.

"You care for Miss Lindy, don't you?!" Maurizio asked.

"More than anything!" He did care about Lindy. More than he ever thought possible. Their trip to Greenwich Village in Manhattan only solidified those feelings. He wasn't an idiot, though. No matter how much he cared, or how easy she'd learned to look at him in the eyes, she'd never bring herself to feel the same way. He was a beast. No number of baths, clothes, or amount of table etiquette could change that. Unless, she _did_ love him. No, that was impossible.

"Well, then," Maurizio broke through his thoughts. "Charm her with beautiful music and romantic candlelight."

"An' when moment is jus' righ..." Lucena added, pulling his hair from his eyes.

"But, how will I know?" Adrian asked.

"You'll feel slightly nauseous," Will answered after keeping himself out of the conversation until that point.

"Considering how well you've been doing with her, I doubt things will go wrong." Maurizio cut back in. "Miss Lindy will finally see the real you tonight."

Magda shook her head, disagreeing. "No. She could always see his true self." The room went silent, knowing what Magda meant. "All these years we've looked after you, we hoped against hope that you would become a better man than your father. We thought that this curse would finally knock some sense into you. But you remained as cruel and selfish as before. We were running out of time, but our feelings for you have never changed."

"That you hate me..." Adrian mumbled, confirming what he knew. After everything he put them through, how could they feel anything different?

"No. We love you." Adrian's body locked. Of all the things he imagined she would say... "It will be alright. Stop being so nervous and tell Miss Lindy how you feel. Because, if you _don't,"_ Her voice rose with a level of seriousness. "I promise you will be chewing cold coffee beans for the rest of your days!"

"In the dark!" Maurizio added.

"Cover i' dust!" Lucena said.

"Dark and very, very, very, very dusty!" Maurizio emphasized. "Let's get to work."

Four hands grabbed a different part of his body. Lucena took his hair, trimming it on the ends. He wanted to tell her that there would be no point and that it would grow right back, but there was no point for a number of reasons. Magda had a comb to smooth out his facial fur, which was just as nerve-racking as someone applying mascara to a regular person. He had to resist the urge to flinch away from the comb that threatened to poke his eyes out. Lucena moved to the tiny horns on his head. Was she polishing them? She moved her hands away and he felt a short relief before she ran her fingernails through his coarse hair. Every fur caught in gel was pulled back. He held his eyes shut until they finally let go of him. He didn't want to look into the mirror, but he was able to sneak a glimpse. His face went flat.

"Oh, you look so...so..."

"Stupid," he finished. With his hair trying to slick back away from his face, which was the last thing he wanted, the hairs on the edges of his face flattening and pointing out like a cartoon sun with a face. The hair Lucena had tried to trim had grown back and was trailing down the back of his neck. He tried to appreciate the help they were trying to give him by making him look more human. But, honestly they had to know that it would look ridiculous.

"Don't worry," Maurizio assured. "I can fix this." He leaned on Magda's shoulder. "Run another bath."

* * *

Lindy stared into the mirror as Mrs. Ruan fixed her hair, pinning it behind her head. She had insisted on light makeup and modest jewelry. Her dress was fixed an modified to suit her body. The corset inside the dress was removed, the short bodice hugging her waist beneath her breasts. Mrs. Ruan finally put on the finishing touch: a silver pendant, the size of a half-dollar, in the shape of a rose.

"You look beautiful, my darling."

Lindy stood up, her skirt fanning over her legs. She bowed at the waist. "Thank you, Mrs. Ruan. I'll be sure to say hi to your husband."

"Say that I love him and miss him," Mrs. Ruan also requested. Lindy nodded, her companion coming up to kiss her forehead. "We all love you, Miss Lindy."

Lindy smiled modestly, thanked her again, and proceeded out the door to the fifth floor.

* * *

Adrian paced outside the doors, the floorboards creaking slightly underneath him. He had been successfully groomed and stuffed into a formal suit. He felt ridiculous being such a creature in a beautiful piece of clothing. He wasn't worthy to be wearing gold and blue with a gold tie that was threatening to choke him in his current anxiety. He only hoped Lindy would be able to see past it and still have a great time tonight.

 _This is it,_ he said to himself. _Don't get scared now. This is Lindy I'm spending time with. I have to tell her. Well, tell her what I know is true. She'll understand. She's always been that way. Kind, intelligent...beautiful..._

He quickened his pace, trying not to make his anxiety worse by thinking too much of her. He looked up every few seconds to glance at the door Lindy would come from. His mind was flooded with thoughts, mixed feelings and worries. He ran his fingers back through his hair, which had been tied back to expose his ears. His own thoughts could be heard more clearly, and he hated it. He wanted this torture to go away.

He heard the door open behind him. He inhaled deeply, turned around, and everything flew from his mind.


	14. Chapter 13: Tale as Old as Time

Adrian didn't know what to expect, but he sure didn't expect to see the most gorgeous creature he'd ever laid eyes on. She stood at the top of the stairs, one delicate hand on the banister. An evening scarf hung on her elbows, draping over the dress that exposed her freckled shoulders. It looked to be sewn directly to her body. He'd assumed her body to be nothing special given that she hid it beneath baggy jeans and loose clothing. But with the silk and satin hugging every curve, he couldn't stop looking. He had to pry his eyes away from her body and make eye contact. But he noticed that her eyes appeared to be the same color green as the dress she wore.

She took a few steps forward, letting him fully see the pink blush and cherry lipstick she wore. Her hair was pulled from her face, exposing her delicate neck with a rose pendant. He had to catch his breath to steady his rapidly beating heart as she continued forward.

"Do I look okay?" she asked.

 _Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight; for I ne'er saw true beauty till this night._ He desperately wanted to say that to her, screaming it in his head. "You look awesome."

She smiled, pulling her scarf closer. "Thank you. You look nice too."

If he wasn't completely speechless and smitten, he would have corrected her. He instead held out his arm for her to take and she looped her hand into the crook of his elbow.

Lindy felt his anxiety from his eyes. He was understandably nervous to dance with her, even though she was the one who should be anxious. Adrian led her into the renovated 'ballroom', looking around them in awe. Her own anxiety crumbled. It felt natural walking with him, and now coming to dance with him. They stopped in the middle of the room, turning to each other. Not knowing how to start, Lindy took the ends of her skirt and curtsied. Adrian bowed at the waist.

Lindy held out her hands for him to take. He slowly grasped her right hand and guided her left to his shoulder. His hand slid down her waist, sending a chill down her back. Adrian's eyes were on her the entire time. Looking down at their feet, Adrian took a step back, Lindy following. He took a side step, Lindy still looking at their feet. Adrian shook his head.

"Just look at me, okay? Don't look at your feet. Just look at me."

Lindy lifted her eyes to meet his, Adrian taking the lead. They spun in little circles for a minute, Mr. Ruan playing a beautiful melody on the piano. Adrian released her waist to spin her, her dress fanning over her legs. He pulled her back in, dancing with her back to his chest. He spun her again as the music reached its climax, reeling her in to go back to a waltz. He marveled at how close she was letting him hold her. By then, everything had just faded. There was nothing except Adrian and Lindy. He spun her again, then pulled her back into one arm, dipping her low. He could feel her breath on his face. He had to resist the first idea that popped into his head and went for the second. He pulled her to her feet.

"Get ready," he said. Before Lindy had time to ask, he had her by the waist, spinning in midair. She squealed, then giggled as she steadied herself on his shoulders. He was laughing too. Nothing in his life could compare to the happiness he felt. Dancing with her, it relieved all the pain that he'd suffered. All the times he'd felt worthless or hideous or deformed, they were gone. He finally set her down to waltz with her, the music slowing down. He grabbed her waist, her arm wrapping over his chest to make a few final steps before finally stopping. Lindy had her chest to his before she settled her head into his collar.

His look of shock slowly morphed into one of complete triumph. Maybe this was the time to make his move. He was sure that she'd never kissed anyone. He could be the first. Kiss her, beg her to stay of her own free will. He'd set her free to live her own life, a life with him. He hopelessly wanted that. He didn't care about the world around him or the pressures of society. He almost didn't care if he stayed a beast forever. For now, it was him and Lindy against the world.

Lindy finally raised her head from his chest, never letting go of his hand as he led her to the doors. Once the doors closed behind them, he pulled her into another dark room.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come with me," he told her, not answering her question. He told a step back, and a step up? He carefully pulled her with him and she realized that these were stairs. The room being pitch black, she had to rely on Adrian to guide her. In that darkness, she could almost imagine him with blond hair, powerful blue eyes, tall and handsome. To her, he already was. It was just familiar to almost imagine him as human. They finally stopped, a city lights nearly blinding her. Cold air bit her skin and she discovered that they were outside, on the roof.

She was suddenly swept off of her feet and in Adrian's arms. "I can walk."

"Are you sure? After all that dancing, your feet must be a little sore."

Lindy hadn't noticed, but her feet did feel a bit crushed. She didn't say anything else. He set her down by the edge of the roof, a couple patio chairs overlooking the streets. She took her place on one, the chill quickly coming to her bare arms. She pulled her scarf tightly around her, Adrian sitting down next to her.

"That was amazing," she said. "I've never danced before in my life."

"Really?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "I thought you took classes or something. You were better than I was down there."

She shook her head, but said nothing. He chuckled.

"What?"

"I was just thinking," he said. "how stupid it might be to think that maybe somebody like me could find someone to share their life with."

Lindy shrugged. "I don't know. I wouldn't say stupid."

"Really?" he asked, hope swelling up in his heart. He had to hold back the screaming in his mind to pull her close, reminding himself that she was only saying she wasn't completely miserable, not that she loved him. "You think you could..." He wished to ask if she could love him. Instead he finished with: "Be happy here?"

Lindy was silent, the hope slowly draining at her face. She finally spoke. "Can anyone be happy if they aren't free?"

His heart dropped to his stomach. What was he thinking? Being trapped in his shiny tower with him. A songbird in a gilded cage was still trapped in a cage. This place was a still a prison to both of them, no matter how much he denied it. But, he thought Lindy was free. He never forced her to come back after they were attacked by a gang, and he certainly never pressed her to do anything she didn't feel comfortable doing. He thought she knew that. Lindy had always been free.

"I didn't ask for a rose," she said, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"When we first met. I didn't ask for my father to bring me a rose," she explained. "I just said that so you'd let a poor sick man go. But, I'm almost glad you locked him up. I haven't seen that fatherly side of him in years."

"You miss him," he stated. She bit down on her lip, and nodded. She wasn't with him anymore. She was miles away, back in her Brownsville apartment with her father. There had to be something he could do for her. "I can show you your dad. You want to see him again?"

She looked up at him in surprise. He took her hand to lead her downstairs to his room before she could ask. He slowly approached the rose in the back of the room. He felt Lindy stop and gasp. He held both of her hands, assuring her it was okay to come closer.

"Be very careful," he said as they neared. He scooped up the mirror and handed it to her. "Another little magic toy. It'll show you anything you ask for."

Lindy stared at him with uncertainty. A magic mirror? That was impossible. But if an atlas could take her back to Greenwich Village in Manhattan, then maybe this mirror could let her see her dad.

"I'd like to see my father...please." Her image disappeared, replaced with flashing red and blue lights. She couldn't see her father at first, only a crowd screaming in a bar. Her father was struggling under two police officers. She almost screamed. "Oh my God! He's being arrested! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Adrian's body went cold. Seeing her watch her father's arrest hurt more than any rejection he could receive. Nothing else mattered to him. He needed her to be happy, and he couldn't keep her happy if she was with him.

"You have to go to him," he said. He wanted to push those words back into his mouth, but he'd already said them. "It doesn't look far. If you hurry, you can make it." He had no justification of his actions when the staff found out. They'd disappear as soon as the night was over. They'd die with him, if he wasn't dying already. But she mattered most right now.

"So, I'm free?" she asked. A lump formed in his throat. She'd always be free. But, if she felt that she was still a prisoner, then maybe it was best if she left. He was selfish not to tell her sooner, but he was telling her now. He nodded slowly. "Thank you so much!" She tried to hand the mirror back, but he pushed back into her hands.

"No, keep it." He tried so hard to smile at her, not letting her see how much he was hurting. "So you'll have a way to look back and remember me." He dared to reach back and run his fingers through her hair. This was a small comfort now, but it was all he had. He couldn't ask Lindy to come back. She shouldn't have to go through that. She should be able to live her life without him.

"Thank you," she whispered. Without another word, she ran from the room. He held out his arm as if to stop her, but she was already gone. Her footsteps were disappearing from the stairs. Adrian felt like he would vomit. Had that just happened? Was she really gone? He stumbled into a bedpost in shock. He couldn't go back upstairs. The hopeful faces of the staff being crushed by the events that took place. He slipped out of his jacket and unknotted his tie, leaving them both on the bed. He changed into some jeans and a hoodie and trudged over to the rose table.

The unmistakable sound of Will's cane and the footsteps of the rest of the staff echoed behind him. He wasn't in the mood to see them, but they had to know sooner or later.

"I must say, Adrian," Will started. "you surprised me tonight. I could feel the chemistry between the two of you. Good job."

"I let her go." There was no point in prolonging the inevitable. Sometimes it was better to be blunt than to sugarcoat. The reality slowly sunk in for the five that had come down, mainly so that Lucena and Felix could understand. They were then yelling at him, berating him and reprimanding him.

"Why on Earth would you do that?!" Maurizio snapped.

"I had to," Adrian said simply.

" _Why?!_ " Lucena wailed.

Adrian couldn't answer that question. He didn't have to courage to and felt that there was no point now. He scrubbed his face with his sleeve, trying to dry his fur. It didn't do any good. His facial fur was still damp. He dared to look over his shoulder at them, trying to let them know.

"Because he loves her," Magda finished. They all stared at the now elderly woman holding a now 18-month-old-looking Felix. They checked to see if she was serious. She was staring at Adrian, her eyes sad. He didn't deny it. She was right. Ever since Thanksgiving weekend, he'd been utterly in love with Lindy. Greenwich had only sealed his affection. Now she was gone.

"Why are we not normal, then?" Maurizio asked.

"You ninny! It's because she does not love _him!_ " Will snapped, Adrian grimacing. "And now, it's too late."

"She'll come back," Felix said, still able to speak full sentences. "I know she will."

Adrian shook his head. "No. She's free now. I'm just sorry I couldn't do the same for you." The staff watched as Adrian pushed past them and entered the rose garden. She'd loved this place so much. The thought of seeing her smile, hearing her read to him, feeling her closeness. It pained him now. He'd never witness it again. A cold chill rattled his thoughts. He knelt down to see where it was coming from. He pushed away the pots to reveal a small hole in the glass, just enough room for him to crawl out of. He slid through the glass, pulling his hoodie over his head. The night air nipped at his skin, but it was better than feeling the guilt and regrets he had.

The sound of a cab made him gasp. He jumped from the hard ground, climbing up the greenhouse to reach the fire escape landing. He raced up the frigid stairs, his feet going stiff in a matter of seconds. He flung himself up the ladder and raced to the other side of the roof, appearing just in time to see Lindy climb into a cab and speed away. He kept his eyes on the taxi, moving to the very edge of the roof until he could no longer see it.

He fell to his knees. There was no point in denying. She was gone for good. All he had left of her, what he would ever have left of her, were memories that would fade. He'd stay on the roof until he died, imagining a foolish fantasy where Lindy would come running through the door and be with him forever. But until he did die, he was a beast. Forever.


	15. Chapter 14: Kill the Beast

Lindy yelled at the driver to go faster, clutching the bag she'd hastily packed before leaving. These streets were strange to her, as she was not used to navigating Brooklyn, especially not above ground. Her eyes were glued to the window, trying to look for any sign of the street her father was located. A flash of red and blue caught her attention and she turned to the driver.

"Pull up there!"

The driver turned, Lindy quickly taking in the horrid scene. Victor and his friend Marcelo were talking with an officer while a crowd of people were documenting or taking pictures. She barely saw her dad before he was shoved into a squad car. The cruiser started to leave, Lindy taking the steering wheel and pulling up directly in front of the police. She threw herself out onto the street.

"STOP!"

Everyone turned in her direction, Victor clearly surprised. Had she seen his involvement in Daniel's arrest? That would mean any chance of winning her would be done for. But she seemed completely unaware. Lindy put on a brave face as one of the cops stepped out of the car and marched toward her before Victor stopped him, asking to let him talk to her.

"Lindy, baby," he said, taking her hand. "I didn't want to do it. But he's being arrested for the murder of my brother."

Lindy shook her head. "It was in self defense, I know it was. Juan Paulo was dangerous."

Victor shook his head. "Even if he didn't, he's been making claims about a beast in a mansion. He's starved himself thinking that he was rescuing you."

She jerked her hand away. "He's not crazy!" If this was the main reason why they wanted rid of him, then Lindy would have laughed. "There is a beast! I just came from that mansion. I've been living there since October. Where do you think I got this dress?!"

Victor nodded condescendingly. She knew he spoke for the crowd behind them. "You must really love him if you're willing to say anything to get him out. We all admire that, but it's too late for you. And for him."

Lindy's face twisted with panic and anger. This man had gotten his way for too long and now she was seconds away from losing everything. She opened her bag and pulled out the mirror.

"You want proof? I get you proof! _Show me Adrian the Beast!"_ She flipped the mirror to Victor just as the image changed from her to Adrian. He leaned against a stone wall, the epitome of dejection and sorrow. Victor's face grew pale, not expecting this. This had to be some sort of trick. A technology with satellite or cameras. But the creature moved as if a TV camera were positioned just in front of it.

The entire crowd stared at them in shock. Even the cops had stopped everything to see. Before she knew what she'd done, Victor snatched the mirror from Lindy. "I don't believe this! A monster!" He held it up for the crowd to see. Lindy tried pushing her way through Victor to grab the mirror back. "Look at it! A werewolf! A Chupacabra!"

"No!" Lindy protested. "He's not dangerous. He's sweet and innocent. He's my friend!"

Victor grabbed her by the arm harshly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had feelings for this thing!"

Lindy struggled. "He's not the monster, Victor! _YOU_ ARE!"

He shoved her to the ground. "She's brainwashed! She thinks she loves him." He turned to the police. "Officers, isn't interference of an arrest a crime?" Lindy looked up as the police picked her up, handcuffed her to the car door, and forced her into the car. She banged on the glass as Victor continued on.

"I've put up with this for the last time. This thing could be a threat to this entire city! Well, officers, if he very well is, then we should gun him down!"

Lindy screamed against the glass, trying to stop the crowd. They were cheering and yelling, texting on their phones as if to tweet about it. The remaining squad cars moved out of the area, leaving Lindy and her father in the last one with one officer guarding them. She kept her eyes on Victor, watching him take Marcelo behind a building and a car drive after the police. Lindy nearly broke down in tears. Everyone - Adrian, Maurizio, Magda - everyone she loved was in danger. And it was all her fault.

* * *

The house was somberly quiet, the staff gathered in what used to be Lindy's room waiting to fade. Maurizio had an old, oversized doll hand to act as a surrogate, Will slumping on a chair. Felix clung to his mother with Lucena holding her hand. Pilot was wandering the room, searching for Lindy. He didn't know where she'd gone. He padded up to Will and put his paws on his knees, whining.

"He's finally learned to love," Maurizio finally said.

"Some good that does us," Will mumbled. "It's useless if she doesn't love him back."

Magda ran her fingers through Felix's hair, squeezing Lucena's. "No. This is the first time we've ever had much hope that she would."

Pilot suddenly started barking, jumping up to the window with Felix next to him. "Mama, is it her? Did she come back?!"

Maurizio ran to the window. "Could it be?" The red and blue lights flashed in his eyes. _"_ The authorities!" A squadron of police cars, SWAT cars, and a black Toyota Camry were parked outside the house.

"Warn Adrian! We must defend our home!" Maurizio said, Will charging out with Pilot to find their master. Leaving the others to barricade the door, he travelled to the roof, Pilot barking.

"Adrian."

He didn't look up, but he knew he was there. "Leave me alone."

"You don't understand. Our house is under attack!"

Adrian shook his head. "It doesn't matter now." His voice was cracked with pain. "Just let them come." He finally raised his head to look at Will. Though Will couldn't see the pain, he could feel it. But now was not the time to be depressed.

"I don't know anything about love, but I know Lindy wouldn't want you moping while your life is in danger." He hurried down the stairs, Pilot following. Adrian lowered his head. What did Will know? He said it himself. He knew nothing about love. He didn't know how painful it was. He knew she would never come back for him, even if he begged. He gazed over the edge of the roof, scratching away the ice that had frozen on his face. He considered jumping, crashing through the thick greenhouse glass and let his sorrow end. But they'd kill him anyway. One way or another, they'd both get what they wanted.

* * *

Lindy fiddled with the handcuff lock with a bobby-pin , trying to think of a plan.

"I have warn Adrian..."

She was hyperventilating, not sure how she would get out of this. Her father was beside her, looking on with confusion.

" _Warn_ him? How'd you even escape?" She looked up from her lock picking, remembering that Adrian was still the beast who kidnapped a young girl to him. She inched as close as she could to him.

"I didn't escape, Dad. He let me go."

He knitted his thin eyebrows. "I-I don't understand it. He was horrible to you."

"He's changed, Dad." She reached into her bag and pulled out the picture frame. She handed it to her father, who recognized it instantly. "He took me home."

He gazed up at her, his eyes in epiphany. "So, you know?"

Lindy nodded. "I know what happened to Mom. I know why you had to take us away. Will you help me?"

Daniel peered at his daughter, failing to hold back tears. She was a caring and forgiving person, but he now realized how much she needed his forgiveness. He nodded. "Give me that bobby pin."

"You can pick locks?" she asked.

"Lindy, I've had to chew my way out of the trunk of a car. This isn't rocket science to me." He picked at the handcuff around her wrist first, feeling it unlock. She rubbed her wrist as he maneuvered to the door. Lindy didn't have time to wait for that. She switched her father places and rammed her heeled shoe into the window. She reached outside for the door handle and thrust it open. She tumbled out, kicking off her shoes to run faster.

Daniel had finally opened the door he was working on when the officer poked his head in and his face turned to shock. Daniel turned over his shoulder, finding the window broken and his daughter gone. He wasn't surprised. He turned to the officer.

"She'd headstrong. Do you have kids?"

Lindy's feet were cold and stiff, but she could run much better without her shoes. Her skirt was ripping but was also dragging her down. She took the tear and pull at it until the skirts fell from her legs, revealing the pair of skinny jeans she wore underneath. She had hidden them from Mrs. Ruan because she felt so naked with a dress on. She flew to the subway station and hopped on, hoping she wasn't too late.


	16. Chapter 15: Battle on the Roof

The door gave in easily, albeit the forced entry by the police. Guns were drawn. The house was dark, no sign of movement or anyone who lived there. They moved in slowly, yelling for anyone to come out. One nosy officer took a glance at the pictures. A woman with a child in her arms sat in an arm chair.

"Lovely little family. A young boy with his grandmother."

A scoff was heard from the landing. " _Grandmother?!_ ATTACK!"

The house's lights all flicked on, the SWAT team bombarded with attacks. Victor and Marcelo could barely believe their eyes as they snuck in behind the police. They ran for the stairs, slipping down with marbles tumbling with them. Several other people, even some whom had followed from the bar, were pouring in as well. Victor was met with a beautiful girl. She held up her fists, asking him to give him what he had. He pulled Marcelo in front of her as she threw an arsenal of punches to his face. A groan caught their attention and Victor moved just in time to see a grand piano fall from the fourth floor landing. Marcelo's legs were buried beneath the keys, a Chinese man playing a funeral march on a stringed instrument.

"Victor, help."

Victor shook his head. "Sorry, old pal. It's hero time."

"Ooh, ouch," the musician commented. Victor traveled up the stairs, avoiding the all booby traps. He'd just passed the third floor as Felix exited the room. He lifted a paint can from the banister and swung it over the side. He kept doing this in a sort of rhythm.

" _Uno. Dos. Tres. Quatro! Cinco!"_ He heaved a large pipe over the side. _"Seis!"_ The three men charging up the stairs were knocked to the floor. Will ran up beside the boy.

"Good show, Felix." A few more men were travelling up the stairs. "Oh, please. Go easy on a blind man."

One stepped forward. Lucena looked up on the landing. Clothes and shoes were flying off the banister, one man flipping off and landing in her arms. She quickly dropped him and drove her foot into his groin. Will sighed in relief until one man tapped him on the shoulder. He backed up.

"Nope, no! Sorry. Just a blind man. Just a blind man!"

Mrs. Ruan burst through the door in front of Will, ribbons in her hands. "Ha, ha, ha! Come here, little boys!" She spun around the men, engulfing them in colorful clothing and ribbons until the three were dressed in Chinese dresses and makeup. "Pretty little boys!" Two screamed, running back down the stairs. The remaining one smiled and pranced down the stairs with his new look. "Beautiful! Go, be free! Be FREE! Be FREEEEEEEEE!"

Magda jumped, with difficulty, onto the chandelier, pouring hot coffee. "How do you like your coffee?! Sugar and cream, or black?!" She suddenly gasped at a young man she recognized. "Elias Callisto!"

The chandelier suddenly jerked, Magda slipping from the chandelier. Felix screamed. Magda braced herself for the floor, but found herself slowed by another body. She opened her eyes to be found in the arms of a young man on the floor.

 _"Gracias!"_ He nodded, tripping an officer and Magda spewing coffee at another. "Nicely handled."

"Well, I used to be on Victor's side, but we are in a very bad place right now," he explained.

"You're too good for him anyway. Shall we resume, then?" He nodded and she helped him to his broken feet.

Mr. Ruan was swinging his pipa at the police and volunteers in battle as they surrounded him. They backed from being hit, slowly closing in on him. A voice rang out from the stairs. A obese woman carrying a kitchen knife was standing on the stairs.

"Silence the musician!" she ordered. Mr. Ruan suddenly froze as guns were drawn on him. He backed up as far as he could before another voice stopped him.

"Shen!"

He looked up to the landing to find Mrs. Ruan standing in the same red dress he'd last seen her in. This was the first time in months they'd seen each other consciously.

"Liqin, at last!"

"I am coming, my love!" she cried, climbing onto the railing. "This is it. The fat lady is _singing!_ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

She leapt from the landing, plummeting straight onto the obese woman. They tumbled down the stairs and into the crowd of people surrounding Mr. Ruan. Pops rang through the corridors, accompanied with bright lights like firecrackers. This sent everyone running for the door, even the police. They would have requested backup if the backup hadn't just run off. The radios were suddenly cut out. People were screaming. No one noticed the one goth girl calmly making her way to the first floor.

Lindy ran up from the subway station out of breath but still sprinting to the house. She pushed her way in, shoving past the frightened people and police. She finally found her way inside as the staff was celebrating. She grabbed some nearby winter boots, not caring whose they were, and slipped into them before she locked eyes with Marcelo.

"Lindy!"

Everyone was staring at her now, smiling and cheering. Lindy knelt down to Marcelo, who looked badly injured.

"Where's Victor?!" she demanded. He pointed up the stairs and she hurried up, hoping she wasn't too late.

* * *

Victor crept through the open door to the roof. He'd been able to sneak through the chaos, but the beast was nowhere in sight. He scanned the roof for anything resembling the hideous creature he saw in the mirror. He'd left it downstairs before he'd climbed to the roof. He knew he'd hit pay dirt when he spotted a slumped figure sitting at the edge of the roof overlooking the backyard. He loaded his gun to catch his attention. He turned and Victor cringed.

"Well, that is a beast." He pointed his gun at him. "You don't know me, but we both know one pretty girl. We're good friends. She told me about how she was locked up in this mansion, no freedom and no contact with the people she loved. She kept telling me how she wished you would just die." He delighted in the beast's face as his already hurt expression turned into a crestfallen look of complete devastation.

Adrian's chest hurt so much, he felt like the splinters in his heart would pierce out from his ribs. After all they'd been through, it had all been a lie? Lindy wanted him dead? How could she?!

"Were you in love with her?" Victor asked mockingly. "Did you honestly think she'd want you?"

Adrian turned away, waiting for him to just pull the trigger. His wish came true as a shot rang out and lightning shot through his left shoulder. He was thrust from the roof, his jacket falling off of his shoulders. As if by some miracle, his paw caught the rail to the fire escape. He climbed as high as he could before jumping to the fire escape next door.

Victor reached for his back pocket for his ammo box, but found it wasn't there. He turned to discover Lindy standing behind him with the box in her hand. She tossed it over the edge of the roof and glared at him.

"Where is he?!" she growled.

He drew his gun. "When we go back to Brownsville, you'll join me and my gang. And that animal's head will hang on our wall!"

"NO!" She dove for the gun in his hand, a shot firing off the stone and into the wall of another building. They leaned into the wall of the roof, the gun hurdling to the fire escape of an adjacent building. Victor made a mad dash back and jumped from the building, landing on the last landing of the adjacent building.

"I'm coming for you, beast!" he yelled out. Lindy ran back inside to climb onto the fire escape of her own building. The ice beneath her feet was making the journey slick, but she had to find Adrian.

Adrian was already hanging on for dear life on the fire escapes of the buildings behind them. His paws slipped every so often, giving him no other choice but to jump to another building. Lindy stopped at the third floor landing just in time to see Adrian attempting to pull himself up, but his hand slipping.

She cried out. "ADRIAN!"

Adrian's ears perked up. No, it couldn't be...It was impossible!

"Lindy?"

He glanced over his shoulder to see the outline of a young girl with fiery red hair and a green top. He swung down to the lower landing and jumped to the higher one to see fully. It was Lindy! She'd come back for him!

" _Lindy!_ You came back!"

"I tried to stop them!" she shouted.

And Adrian realized that everything this man, Victor, had said was a lie. Lindy never wanted him dead! And he didn't want to die. He wanted to live to have Lindy by his side. He gripped the railing as he stepped up to jump.

"Stay there! I'm coming!" He leapt from the railing, gripping a broken one from across the alley. Lindy whipped around to climb back up to the roof. Adrian heaved himself onto the ladder of the building across the next alley, but received a punch in the face as he reached the roof. His feet slipped, Victor carrying a large metal pipe. He hovered over Adrian as he struggled to regain his footing on the ladder, waiting for him to climb back up to strike him. Lindy arrived on their own roof.

"Victor! _No!_ "

Adrian regained his footing, the fear and despair inside him draining, filling with uncontrollable rage. Rage he hadn't felt since he'd been cursed. No man or murderer will dare touch Lindy if he was there. She deserved to be loved, not won like a prize. He lifted his head as the pipe came crashing down, stopping abruptly in his paw. His grip was tight and much stronger than Victor's. He forced his way up over the icy edge, fire in his eyes, and ripped the pipe from his hand. He launched for his neck, his fingers boring into his skin. He held him so forcefully that he dragged the muscular man to the edge of the roof, dangling him off the side. Lindy gasped and everything was still for a moment.

"Don't let me go!" Victor pleaded, his confidence gone. "Please! I'll do anything!"

Adrian was breathing heavily with rage. He was more than willing to drop this bozo onto the concrete five stories down, ending this nightmare for him and Lindy. He noticed her out of his peripheral vision. Her face was full of fear. Adrian slapped himself inside. He was better than this. Lindy had taught him that. Because of her, he was now too human to kill this man.

"Don't hurt me, beast," Victor begged, sobbing.

Adrian pulled him into his face and growled, "I'm no beast." He yanked Victor back onto the roof, harshly slamming him onto his back. He scrambled to his feet, slipping towards the fire escape.

"Get out! Go!" Adrian called after him, turning his attention to Lindy. There was no quicker way over. He backed up as far as he could. Lindy knew immediately what he was doing and shook her head furiously.

"Don't! It's too far; you won't make it!"

Adrian charged, bounding for the roof where Lindy stood. He stepped up off the brink and pushed from the stone as hard as he could. He was so close! He reached his arms out as his chest hit stone, cracking a few ribs. He finally brought himself to stand. She was here! Lindy was here! He reached out for her.

 _CRACK!_

Adrian fell to the stone in pain, his back dripping with blood. Victor stood on the edge of the house Adrian had just jumped from. Lindy yanked Adrian back onto the roof as he was about to slide off, pulling him directly over the greenhouse. He struggled to stay on his knees, wrapping one arm around Lindy. He glanced back, Victor taking aim once again. Adrian pulled Lindy to him as a final shot rang out. Adrian's body fell limp, and the two toppled from the building. They hit the glass and shrubbery before anyone knew what had happened. Victor smiled triumphantly, preparing to step back down to safety. His foot caught a slick patch. He yelled as his body felt heavy and he hit the ground hard.

He wasn't moving. Lindy wasn't moving. Adrian wasn't moving.


	17. Chapter 16: True Love (Lindy)

**I have to do this from both point of views, because this scene is too epic to be told from just one of them. Adrian's POV will be entered later today or tomorrow.**

* * *

Lindy groaned, shakily rising to her knees. Everything had happened so fast. She barely had time to process what went on before she noticed the bits of broken glass in her arms. Dirt and rose petals littered the floor. She and Adrian had plummeted into the roof of the rose garden.

 _Adrian!_

She glanced up from the destruction and gasped in horror at his nearly lifeless body. She bounded over to him. He was still breathing, much to her relief, but badly injured. His shirt was covered in blood and bullet holes. Tears formed in her eyes, refusing to believe this had happened. She cradled his head in one arm, trying to rouse him. She put her hand to his cheek, his eyes slowly opening at her touch. She tried her best to smile as he looked at her, his eyes full of happiness. He smiled as she brushed his hair from his face, taking her hand.

"You...You came back?"

"Of course I did," she sobbed, not realizing she was crying. "This is all my fault. I never should have taken that mirror with me! I never should have left!"

He shook his head. "It's not your fault. It would have...happened eventually."

"What are you saying? I never wanted this to happen. I'm not leaving you again!" she promised. His breath was becoming more jagged and forced, trying to cling to life as long as he could. He never looked away from her once.

"Lindy...I have to go."

She shook her head. "No."

"...Better this way," he whispered, his eyes half-closing. She willed him to keep looking at her, trying to hold onto him.

"Don't say that!" She was crying uncontrollably. She had just gotten him back, she couldn't just lose him. "I can patch you up just like before. We'll be together and everything will be fine." She wanted to believe the lies she was saying, but it did nothing to comfort her. She hoped it brought him some comfort. He brought his paw up to her cheek, her hair tangled in his fingers.

"At least...I got the chance to hold you...and see you again...I'm sorry."

His eyes rolled back into his head, his body losing all tension. She screamed at him to stay with her, look at her. She held his head in her hands. "No, Adrian! Please, don't do this to me. Please don't leave me here! Please!" His eyes stared straight past her, not a hint of life left in them. She hugged him to her, bawling.

* * *

As the last car drove away, the staff cheered in victory. Lucena suddenly gasped, falling into Maurizio's arm. He helped her to the ground as she disappeared from his arms, no trace of her left.

"Oh, Lucena. _Mia cara_ Lucena."

Mrs. Ruan was the next to lay on the ground, exhausted and laying in her husband's fragile arms.

"Oh, my Shen. You were so brave. Goodbye, my love." She closed her eyes and went to sleep, slowly vanishing into thin air. Her husband could only watch helplessly.

"Liqin, no! Don't leave me!" He gasped as his entire body went stiff next to where his wife had vanished, and he was gone in a matter of seconds. Maurizio and Will hung their heads as Magda came running from the hallway.

"Felix! Felix! Where is Felix? He's ran off!" She leaned against the banister on the stairs, as if an attempt to climb them. "Where is _mi hijo_?" She fell to the stairs, slowly curled up, and faded. Poor timing. Felix came bounding down the stairs, barely older than a 12 month old.

 _"Mama! Mami!"_

The two remaining men watched in horror as the little boy tripped down the stairs, his head threatening to crack open. Maurizio lunged forward and hugged a newborn baby to his chest, setting him next to the place where his mother had passed. Will was looking around frantically.

"Maurizio! Maurizio!"

He held his arm out to his dying friend. "I'm here, _mio amico._ "

"Maurizio, it was an honor to serve with you." Will placed his hands on Maurizio's shoulder before fading away. Maurizio's arm inverted, leaving him a helpless torso. He hung his head, knowing what was to come next. He closed his eyes against the fading lights.

"The honor...was mine."

* * *

"Come back! Come back!" Lindy repeated, but knowing he was gone. She held his lifeless body to her, never wanting to let go of him. She didn't notice the figure in the shadows behind her, carrying the two empty rose stems under the bell jar. She observed the heartbreaking scene with her own tears.

Lindy still pled and begged for him to look at her and never leave her. "You changed me, Adrian. I don't know what I'm going to do. Please, don't leave me. I...I love you."

After thinking it so many times, but never feeling right or seeing the right time, she'd finally uttered it to him. But now he'd never know it. She leaned in to kiss his forehead, half expecting him to nestle into her neck. But he made no other move. She sat back up and went back to sobbing.

Kendra stepped silently out of the shadows, setting the bell jar on the patio table. She raised her hands, the petals swirling around the dead stems. The bell jar turned to dust and the rose petals flew towards Adrian's body. Lindy had no knowledge of this until she felt his body rise from the ground. At first, she thought that maybe he was alive, but she opened her eyes to find him fully rising off the ground, engulfed in rose petals and golden light. Lindy stepped back into the wall as she witnessed what looked like his paw transforming into a human hand. She couldn't take her eyes off the scene as the same happened with his feet.

She figured if his other parts were changing, she'd look to his face. His back was to her and all she could see was his hair or a split second before a blinding light burst through the greenhouse, the glass reflecting it everywhere. Lindy covered her eyes as the light dissipated like dust. She blinked until her eyes adjusted to the light. A tall young man with blond hair stood where Adrian had been laying, observing his hands and body. Lindy was too shocked to think or move, but she gasped when he turned to face her.

His shirt was torn and a size too big, sagging over muscular shoulders. Straight blond hair, not nearly as long as Adrian's, covered his head with bangs over bright blue eyes. He was staring at her, as if unable to believe she was there. He took a few steps toward her, Lindy jumping back in fright. He stopped, a bit of his wide smile fading. She knitted her eyebrows. Something about this man seemed familiar.

She took a few pressing steps forward, analyzing him carefully. He never took his eyes off of her as she reached out touch him, running her fingers through his hair and over his shirt. She searched for anything to remind her, to help her. Was this man Adrian? The man she fell in love with? She lifted her head to meet his eyes. They were same shape, the same color, shining with the same intensity she'd seen when she looked into Adrian's eyes.

"...Adrian?"

He beamed at her, nodding. He brushed the loose hair from her face, his hand trailing her jaw and ending under her chin. She held one hand to his arm and the other on his chest. She didn't exactly know if she should be doing this, but it felt so right to her. For a while, neither of them wanted to make the first move until Lindy's chest felt ready to burst. She finally leaned it and captured his lips in hers. He leaned back, Lindy thinking she might have come on too strong. But she felt his hands trail down her waist and behind her head, pulling her closer to him. She finally drew back, catching her breath.

"Lindy. I can't believe it." He hugged her to his chest.

"Neither can I," she replied. She lifted her head and stepped back. "Seriously, I have no idea what just happened. How did you - ? Where did - ? What's with - ? What the hell, man?!"

He laughed and kissed her. "Don't hurt yourself. I have a lot of explaining to do. First being, after I changed back everything is fixed. How convenient is that?" Lindy looked about the room and discovered the rose garden to be in perfect condition. She was confused beyond all rational thought and felt like she'd pass out, or get a huge migraine at the least. She sighed in exhaustion, falling back into Adrian's chest.

"My brain hurts," she whimpered. "I guess, I'm really glad you came back." She began to cry again, clinging to his shirt as he held her. She closed her eyes, reminding herself that the man beside her was Adrian, her beast. He slowly stepped back, but still gripping her hand. He hurriedly pulled her towards the door.

"If I'm back to normal, then so are everyone else! C'mon!"


	18. Chapter 17: True Love (Adrian)

Adrian laid on his back, his body bursting with pain beyond comprehension. His back was covered in blood and his spine was bust, three bullets and a five story drop shattering his legs and ribs. He couldn't move, but he was still breathing. It was horribly painful, his breath coming out in short, stabbing gasps. He was laying on dirt and glass, knowing he had crashed through the greenhouse roof. Everything was destroyed. Except for one thing.

He heard a gasp and soft hands cradled his head, caressing his cheek. He forced his eyes open. Lindy was holding him to her, tears running down her face but she was smiling at him. Her dress was ripped, her hair had come loose, and her arms were covered in small cuts, but he couldn't help but think she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"You...You came back?"

"Of course I did," she sobbed.

 _Don't cry. Please don't cry_ , he thought, wanting to reach up and wipe the tears from her eyes. _It hurts to see you cry._

She continued. "This is all my fault. I never should have taken that mirror with me! I never should have left!"

Now she was blaming herself for this! He could hardly bear to see her like this. He shook his head.

"It's not your fault. It would have...happened eventually."

"What are you saying?!" she demanded. "I never wanted this to happen. I'm not leaving you again!"

He knew she wouldn't. She'd already come back for him and that said enough. But his vision was blurring and his chest hurt too much to breathe. His back was blown apart (and he was glad Lindy couldn't see it), so he could barely move. His life was spilling out from the holes in his back.

"Lindy...I have to go." It pained him to have to say that, but there was no use denying it. At least, without him, Lindy would feel free.

She shook her head. "No!"

It was getting harder and harder to stay awake. He tried to will himself to look at her, to not let go. But black was dragging him down.

"...Better this way," he whispered. He could never deserve her, even if he acted human enough. This way, Lindy would be free to live a life of her own, just like she wanted. Lindy's voice cut through the darkness, waking him enough to keep looking at her.

"Don't say that! I can patch you up just like before. We'll be together and everything will be fine!"

He knew that they were just lies, and Lindy also knew this. But she was trying to bring him comfort. Having her here was comfort enough for him, even if she was lying and he was dying. Tears were running down her cheeks, falling onto his face to create his own tears. He couldn't bear seeing her like this, and found himself trying to believe what she'd said. Everything would be fine. He'd change back, they'd graduate their respective classes, she'd go to college and get a well-paying job, they'd get married, start a family, and they'd have each other forever. He reached up to wipe her tears away, his fingers tangling through her hair.

"At least...I got the chance to hold you...and see you again...I'm sorry."

Everything went dark, his pain ceasing. Lindy's voice, crying out to him, faded into nothingness. He had so many regrets, so many things he still wanted to say to her. How much he loved her and cared about her, how much she'd changed him, how she'd taken a hopeless creature and turned him into a man who loved her more than he ever thought possible. He hoped that she'd find some other man to spend her life with, one who truly deserved her. He hoped that she'd take her intelligent mind to new places and she'd achieve everything she'd ever dreamed of doing. A brilliant mind like hers shouldn't be sold away.

 _I love you, Lindy_ , he thought before everything was gone and cold.

Then, warmth. All the pain was gone and his body felt like warm light. Was this heaven? He didn't deserve it, but he was thankful for it. He felt his limbs lengthen and normalize, like his first transformation. But this one was soothing, almost loving. He was feeling ready until he landed on his feet. He was confused at first until he opened his eyes. He was home, the broken greenhouse laid out before him. He felt like he'd just woken up from a nap.

 _What the hell just hap -_ His thoughts were cut short at the sight of his hands. Human. He looked down at himself, his bare feet on the floor and his shirt sagging over his broad chest. He felt across his face, smooth skin and straight hair meeting his fingers. He was human again. But that meant...

 _Lindy. Where's Lindy?!_

He whirled around and, to his immense relief, Lindy was there. She looked scared and confused, but otherwise fine. If he was human again, then that meant she loved him back. He couldn't take the smile off his face. He didn't want to waste any time in holding her, hugging her, kissing her for the first time. He started toward her, but she gasped and jumped away from him. He stopped and realized that she didn't recognize him. She had just witnessed Adrian's death and now she was confused as to why this man was here instead.

He decided that she had to figure out that he was Adrian for herself. She had to come to him or he might scare her away. She finally took a few steps forward, coming up to stand right in front of him. He still couldn't stop smiling at her, even when she was in this state of uncertainty. She reached up to run her fingers over his face, through his hair. Her other hand settled on his chest.

 _Please know me. Please remember me!_

She looked up into his eyes, and her eyes and face lit up in epiphany.

"...Adrian?"

He nodded, beaming. He took the opportunity to brush away some hair from her face, tracing her jawline until he stopped under her chin. She held his arm, leaning on her chest. She edged closer to him. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he didn't know if it was right. Would she turn away? He was answered with her lips on his. His heart skipped a beat. He was not expecting her to be willing so quickly, but did it matter? He made no other move other than to wrap one arm around her waist and hold the other behind her head, pulling her closer. He never wanted it to end, but she stood back on her heels to take a breath, leaning on his chest.

"Lindy, I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," she said. She stepped away from him, her eyes wild. "Seriously, I have no idea what just happened. How did you - ? Where did - ? What's with - ? What the hell, man?!"

Seeing this must have been confusing to her. She did just witness him change from a beast to a teenage kid. But he couldn't help but laugh. She might have been freaking out, but she looked so adorable doing so. He pulled her into another kiss to reassure her.

"Don't hurt yourself. I have a lot of explaining to do." He glanced around him, the greenhouse now in pristine condition. He smirked. "First being, after I changed back everything is fixed. How convenient is that?"

Lindy took a turn to gaze at the fixed room. Her face was frozen in a confused frown, staring at the roses as if they had just blossomed from their stems. She finally sighed and fell back into his chest, moaning.

"My brain hurts..." She clung to his shirt, nestling into his collar. "I guess I'm really glad you came back." He held her as she began to cry again. He still hated to see her cry, but at least this time he could comfort her properly. For some reason, he glanced up near the greenhouse door. The young woman with long black hair, pale skin, and bottle-green eyes stood just out of the shadows, staring at the two. She smiled and nodded. He glanced at Lindy, then back at her and mouthed:

" _Thank you."_

Without a word, she turned back into the shadows and disappeared. He was almost grateful for that stupid curse. He became a better person, made real friends, and found Lindy. He blinked and stepped back before taking Lindy's hand and rushing to the door. She made a confused look at him.

"If I'm back to normal, then so are everyone else! C'mon!"

"What?! Aah!"

* * *

Pilot barked madly as the lights inexplicably turned on. A sea of red cloth lay on the floor, Pilot sniffing it curiously. He jumped as the room erupted in a high note and the cloth flurried around him. Pilot dashed under the couch and glanced back. The red drapes hung over a young woman in the arms of her husband, crying and laughing as she kissed his cheek.

Mr. and Mrs. Ruan turned as Will stood where he'd last faded, rubbing his eyes. He threw off his sunglasses as his vision adjusted to the light and came into focus, a young Italian man in front of him.

"Maurizio!"

Maurizio chuckled. "Will, what did I tell you? We beat the clock!" He clamped Will on the shoulder. A small moan caught the men's attention, and Maurizio gasped and ran to the young woman on the floor.

"Lucena!" He knelt down as she opened her eyes and grasped his hand.

"Maurizio!"

"Can you hear me, _cara mia_?" He asked. She nodded, jumping into his arms to fully kiss him. The clink of a coffee mug sounded on the banister, a middle-aged woman standing on the stairs with a teenage boy. The boy hung on his mother's elbow as she smiled at him.

"What did I tell you, _mijo_?"

Everyone was shouting and laughing, unable to believe their curses were finally lifted as well. Pilot ran to the door, scratching on the wood. Will spotted the pooch and went to open the door for him. The blinding flash of cameras kept him from going any further, reporters and the people among the mob pouring in. Kendra watched the scene from the landing as a few gasped at the sight of the Ruan couple, turning to joyous excitement. Elias Callisto made his own way through the crowd of people.

"Mom?" Magda nearly cried and welcomed her first son into her arms. "Mama! Felix! Lucena!"

Kendra chuckled to herself as the obese woman made her way through the crowd too, towards an unsuspecting Will.

"William? William!"

Will froze. He knew that voice. Oh, God no! He turned in horror. "Mother?!" He was engulfed inside her girth before he could run away.

"Oh, my baby..." she sobbed.

"Go blind again! Go blind again!" he begged under his breath.

Maurizio and Lucena laughed at Will, knowing he'd have to get used to it again. Lucena glanced into the living room.

"Maurizio, _mira_! Look!"

Everyone turned to see the tall, handsome young man with his redheaded beauty by his side, hand in hand. Everyone was whispering, in shock and awe. Maurizio grinned as they approached.

"Welcome back, Mr. Kingsbury."

Adrian beamed, trapping Maurizio in a friendly hug. "Good to have you back, man."


	19. Chapter 18: Happily Ever After

A million questions raced through her head, but Lindy was happy. The entire street was full of people reuniting with the staff. She gave a friendly wave to Elias as he was having a moment with his mother and siblings. Mr. and Mrs. Ruan were laughing and talking with fans. Will was being bear-hugged by Mrs. Fratalli, which made her burst out laughing. Adrian was talking with Maurizio and other news stations. In this sea of people, she felt small.

"Lindy!" She perked up at Adrian's voice. He had her off the ground before she turned around.

"Aah! Put me down!" she squealed until another kiss silenced her, and she immediately relaxed. The staff applauded, the rest of the crowd wondering what was happening. "Thanks."

"You looked like you needed help." He glanced down shyly. "I'm, um...really glad you came back."

She blushed. "Um..." She laughed nervously. "Well, I - "

She was suddenly interrupted by someone in the crowd, pushing their way through. Adrian followed her gaze and froze.

"Dad?"

Lindy flew from Adrian's hold and to her father. He hugged her before she said a word. She didn't want a hug from him. She wriggled away.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I needed to know that my daughter was safe!" he said, as if he couldn't believe she would ask that. She couldn't look him in the eye. He was looking around her. "Where is he?"

Lindy knitted her eyebrows until she realized that he was looking for Adrian. "Oh! Um...about that. Well, let's just say you'll hardly recognize him." She turned back to find Adrian shaking his head at her. She flashed him a pleading look, him doing the same. Frustrated, she frantically started waving him over. She pushed her way to Adrian, taking his hand and leading him to her father.

"Dad, this is Adrian."

Adrian struggled to make eye contact. "H-Hello..."

Daniel knitted his matted brow. "Lindy, I'm confused."

Lindy was about to explain when Adrian spoke first. "I have a lot of explaining to do, for both of you. And none of it is going to make any sense! But before we do anything, I need to get this off my chest." He wrung his hands. "Mr. Owens, I am so...so sorry for what I did to you and your daughter."

Lindy held his arm, giving Adrian some relief. Daniel merely stood where he was, staring at the two of them intently with his arms crossed.

"Look, I understand if you don't want me to - "

"Kid, kid!" Daniel interrupted. "I'd be lying if I said I'd undergone my worst torture in there. If you really are the...the beast that kept me and my daughter hostage, then I'll accept your apology."

"Are you serious?! Thank you, sir!" he said gratefully, hugging Lindy before turning back to the man who'd forgiven him so easily. "Would you like to stay the night?" Lindy's head whipped around to stare at Adrian, speechless. "I wouldn't want you guys spending New Year's Day in freezing temperatures. I have food, a spare room, everything you need."

Adrian held his breath as he awaited Daniel's answer. Daniel chuckled. "Stay the _night?_ I could never! It's clear that every attempt at evading eviction is out of reach. If my daughter is going to stay here with you, I feel that, as her father, I should look after her."

"So, you'll stay here with us?" Lindy asked. 'Us'. Lindy said _'Us'_. It surprised Adrian that she possibly wanted to stay with him after everything that had happened.

Daniel chuckled. "Of course. But definitely not because Lil' Linda here seems rather engaged with you."

Lindy blushed. " ** _DAD!"_**

Daniel chuckled again. "Kidding! I'm kidding!"

"So..." Lindy's voice lowered to a serious tone. "You'll go to rehab? For real this time?"

Adrian had never heard so much disappointment in her voice. It was apparent that this man who had raised her had hurt her and she needed reassurance that he would go through with the withdrawal. Daniel took a long look at his daughter before nodding his head.

"But, first," Daniel glanced at Adrian. "we have some things to discuss."

* * *

"Okay...Oh, God! Where do I start?"

He felt his hand compress in Lindy's fingers. "Wherever you feel is the best place to start."

He dared to glance up at her. He was glad that she hadn't said the cliché "start from the beginning". She knew that he couldn't handle telling that much. But, how much was he actually willing to tell? He glanced uncomfortably at Daniel, who sat right across from them on a patio chair. Lindy sat next to Adrian on a bench surrounded by pink roses. He met her eyes, her cheeks matching the pink of the roses around her. He gathered whatever stamina he could take from this and sighed.

"Well, Lindy, you already know the deal with my parents. My parents' divorce, my mom passed away, my dad...I'd rather not go there right now."

"That's okay," she said.

"I was, uh...in my Freshman year of high school at Tuttle. Two years ago."

"We went to the same school," Lindy interrupted, Adrian nodding.

"I never noticed you before. And, if I did, it wasn't for anything good. I was a douche. It started by just picking on people who didn't look right, then it escalated into ruining people's lives just for the hell of it. I didn't realize how I affected them and, frankly, I didn't care. I thought that I was God's gift to women and fame, isn't that pathetic?" He let out a nervous laugh, but his insides shriveled. "So, um...I was throwing this party at the end of the school year. And, this overweight girl that I never invited walks in. She said I was self-centered and only cared about my looks and let's just say I did my best to put her down. So, after she leaves, I start getting sick. I head back home, and she's in my room. Now, this is where it gets...weird."

Daniel chuckled. "Kid, I've gone from seeing you as the Wolf Man to looking at you and seeing St. Peter. After everything I've seen, I'll believe anything you say."

" ** _DAD!"_**

Adrian ignored the comment, though annoyed that he'd think to say that right now. Even though he'd rather deal with that and digress from the conversation, he decided to continue.

"Thanks," he said flatly as a rebuttal. "So, she goes on saying how I hurt people and what a horrible person I was. I take another look at her, and she's hot. Like, she went slim and curvy with black hair and makeup. I-I didn't know what was happening until she finally picked me up off the floor and threw my face into the mirror."

"And that's when...?" Lindy guessed. Adrian nodded. "And you didn't know that was happening to you?"

"Well, I knew _something_ was happening to me. It hurt! It hurt like Hell!"

"Oh my God..." Lindy breathed. "How could somebody do that to you?!"

"I deserved it!" Adrian said quickly, taking her shoulders. "You didn't know me before, and thank God you didn't!"

Lindy gazed at him in disbelief. But, why? She had seen what he was like when they first met. Why was she surprised?

"We're getting off topic here," Daniel reminded. "You were...cursed?"

Adrian glanced at Lindy before releasing her shoulders. He didn't want to go back to this, but they both had a right to know. He nodded again.

"She...took the two roses on my suit and said that when the last one wilted, then I'd stay like that for the rest of my life."

Lindy drew in a small gasp. "So, if I had touched that rose...Oh, God! No wonder you were pissed."

"You couldn't have known," he said.

"I still shouldn't have gone down there!" she argued.

"So," Daniel interrupted. "You'd been that way for two years? But, you're still a minor."

"In all honesty, sir, I really hadn't changed. Not until I got a taste of Lindy's stubbornness."

"Ha, ha," Lindy said dryly. The two stared at her as she crossed her bare arms. "What? If anyone was stubborn, it was you." She pointed to Adrian. "So, the curse. How'd you break it? Did you...Did you have to die?"

"What? Hell, no!" Adrian replied. "If that were the case, I'd have broken the curse way before school ended." He meant this as a joke, but he could see fresh tears forming in Lindy's eyes. "No, it wasn't like that. To break it, someone had to fall in love with me." He brushed her hair from her eyes. "And I had to love them back." Tears fell from her face, but her eyes were shining in amazement. Adrian chuckled nervously and darted his eyes. "That one feels pretty self-explanatory."

Lindy fell into his arms, smiling and laughing. Adrian briefly snuggled into Lindy's hair before noticing Daniel's contemplating look. A horrifying thought came over him. What if Lindy's father didn't want him to be with her? The thought made his stomach drop. He'd experienced Lindy leaving, and he nearly got killed. He couldn't bear to be apart from her, but he didn't know what he would do if Daniel decided what was best for Lindy.

"Dad?" Lindy peered at her father as she rested her head on Adrian's shoulder. Adrian stared at him as well, awaiting his response. They stared at each other in silence before Daniel chuckled.

"You've grown up so much," he told Lindy. "He makes you happy?" Lindy nodded. "And he doesn't hurt you?" Lindy shook her head. "Good girl." With that, Daniel stood and exited the greenhouse. "I'll leave you two to sort things out."

As soon as the door closed behind him, Adrian pulled Lindy to his chest in relief. "Oh my God! That was terrifying!"

"You're suddenly scared of my father?" Lindy bantered, snuggling into his neck.

Adrian chuckled. "I was just...scared that he wouldn't let me see you anymore. You've seen how that turned out."

"That doesn't really matter anyway." She turned to whisper into his ear. "Because I don't give a shit about what other people say about us. Besides, where else am I gonna stay?"

"You mean..." Adrian gently pushed Lindy in front of him, looking her in the eye. "You're staying? You want to stay with me?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

He could hold back the urge no longer and leaned forward to capture her lips in his. He'd never thought he'd be so bold as to make the first move with her, but it felt so right. This was what he needed in his life. No money or status or parentage could compare.

"I love you, Lindy."

"I love you, Adrian."

* * *

Lindy waved from her bedroom window as the cab sped away with her father inside. She was convinced that he'd stay in rehab, and she was relieved to have a safe place to stay whilst he was gone. She pulled her legs out from under her skirt, having relenting to Mrs. Ruan that she wear one without pants. But only for today. As she looked away from the window, the door pushed open with Pilot bounding over to her. He jumped up next to her and began licking her face. She giggled.

"Yes, I missed you too."

She nuzzled Pilot's head as the door creaked open further. Adrian shut the door behind him as he stepped inside.

"Hi," she greeted, trying to pull the skirt of her dress over her knees. She fumbled a bit before sitting back on her legs to hide them. "H-How's it going?" He laughed and pushed Pilot down to kiss her, Pilot barking. "He's still getting used to you. We both are. Where is everyone?"

"They've been cramped up in here long enough. I gave them the month off."

"Really?"

"Six months if they want to only do summer jobs." He smirked. "The old me would've never done that."

"Well," she said, leaning against his chest. "The old you is not you. I think the old you was never you. You were just in there somewhere." She gripped tightly at his shirt. She could feel his heart running a mile a minute. She glanced up to see his face go bright red and giggled.

"What?"

"Your face."

"What about my face?"

"I've never seen you blush before. It's adorable." This made his blush color cherries, chuckling like a lovesick little boy. She decided to take it a step further and fall across his lap, drawing him closer. The moment was ruined, however, when Pilot began licking Lindy's face to regain her attention.

"Pilot!" she groaned. "You ruined it."

"You want to go somewhere more private?" Adrian asked.

"What are you - ?" Lindy began before Adrian pulled her to her feet and followed him to the fifth floor. They stopped at the door, Lindy trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry," he said. "I...I-I wanna show you something."

Lindy knitted her eyebrows. She'd seen the ballroom before, and she'd had a magical experience dancing with him there. But what had he done now?

"I'm really starting to hate surprises now," she thought aloud.

"You don't like them?" he asked.

"I do! I'm just exhausted. A library, a garden, Pilot. Basically everything that happened in the past two days! I'm pretty freaked out at this point!"

Adrian chuckled and pulled her in for another kiss, a gesture that was now, unfortunately, starting to become her main coping mechanism. "I know. But, I promise, this is the last surprise you're going to get. Until your birthday, whenever you decide to tell me when it is." He held his hands to the door handles. "Now, close your eyes."

Lindy complied, bracing herself for whatever surprise came her way next. She felt his hands take her own and lead her forward. They took a few more paces in until he stopped, slipped his hands to her waist, and whispered into her ear. "You can open them now."

She slowly peeked behind her eyelashes before she drew in a slow gasp. Everywhere she looked, on the piano, the walls, the curtains, even hanging on the chandeliers, were hundreds of red and white roses.

"Adrian...it's beautiful!"

"Lindy." He brushed a few strands of hair from her face. "I told you that I wasn't ready to talk about my dad. But seeing how you were able to forgive yours for all the horrible things he'd done to you - "

"Adrian," Lindy interrupted. "You don't have to."

"But, why shouldn't I? I'm human again, so...doesn't that mean I should go back to my old life. Try to find some sort of understanding with my dad? Shouldn't I try to find where Kyle Kingsbury fits now?"

Lindy nearly gasped at the mention of that name. She had assumed Adrian was his given name, but he'd changed it. She shrugged, unsure how to answer at first. She blinked as she realized the picture still in her coat pocket. "Well, I do think it is important for you to reconcile with your dad. But, I don't think that you could ever go back to your old life." She took out the tattered photo for him to see.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"That first night in your room," she answered. "You're not the same person you used to be. You may have been Kyle, and he may have been cute. But Adrian is the guy I fell in love with. You just have to choose which one you want to be."

He thoughtfully glanced up at her, then back at the photo, before tearing right down the middle. He threw the scraps on the floor below them, taking Lindy's hands. "I choose Adrian." He touched his forehead to hers, feeling Lindy's hair on his skin. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Lindy cooed.

Adrian marched to the piano, setting an iPod on top. "But I guess the real reason I brought you up here is..." He switched on the iPod, romantic music flowing from it. "May I have this dance?"

* * *

 **My first finished fic! YAY! Thank you for those who have followed and if you enjoyed this, please favorite and comment your thoughts in the reviews. And, if you would like to see a retelling of the book with extended scenes, added in interactions, and a broader ending, please comment your thoughts in the reviews.**

 **THANK YOU ALL!**


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